Gray: Scorpius Malfoy and the Crux of the Alchemist
by Sir Manayaz
Summary: (VI): While the Shadow War continues far away from the walls of Hogwarts, Scorpius is left facing the frustration of being stuck inside starting his first year of NEWT classes. He finds himself drawn to the mysterious new Alchemy professor, the subject itself shedding light on certain things while Shadows and a defector lurk closer then he realizes.
1. VI: Aurors and Not Aurors

_**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, it belongs to JK Rowling_

_**Author's Note:** So here is Book VI! For any newcomers i__f you haven't read Books I through V first then you should go back and read them because otherwise this probably won't make a lot of sense to you. For any oldcomers, welcome back and I hope you enjoy this next installment so without further ado, here's the first chapter  
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><p><strong><em>TURKEY FALLS TO SHADOWS<em>**

Head Auror Harry Potter – The Boy Who Lived – threw down the paper in disgust, he ran his hands through his jet black hair that was now snaked with gray but it was so untidy to begin with that disrupting it made no difference. He sighed heavily, letting his scarred forehead drop into his hands as the weight of the news seemed to drag it down. In less than a year the Shadows had taken complete control over not one but _two_ countries, not just the wizarding part either but the muggle one as well. It was a feat not even Voldemort had managed, something that made him almost miss the Dark Lord.

"Are you alright, Harry?" a voice inquired with concern.

Harry's head shot up at once, having momentarily forgotten he wasn't alone in his office. It was a moderately sized room and was moderately tidy, only the desk he sat at was strewn with files and rolls of parchment. His companion sat opposite and Harry peered at him with his emerald eyes, gazing through his rounded spectacles. The man met his gaze calmly, he too wore glasses but they almost seemed to hide the eyes behind them rather than exemplifying them like Harry's did somehow. They were a sharp shade of cyan at any rate, identical to his father's which was pretty much the only thing Logan Leebin shared with his son. He was slighter and paler, his features utterly different and his hair a reddish brown that seemed to spike naturally upwards, he was younger too and Harry had over a decade on him in age. He dressed completely differently to Logan too, Harry could count on his fingers the times he'd seen his mentor not dressed in Auror robes whereas Flannery wasn't even an Auror but a kind of wizard psychologist. Harry could never decide whether the scruffy clothes he wore where a muggle take on wizard clothes or a wizarding take on muggle clothes. He had a pale yellow scarf on as he usually did these days, hiding scars his werewolf wife had accidentally given him.

"Harry?" Flan prompted again, snapping him from his thoughts for a second time and in reply Harry simply tossed him the paper.

"Have you seen this?" Harry questioned seriously.

"Yes," Flan said slowly with a curious expression, "I'm the one who handed it to you."

"Sorry," Harry apologized, rubbing his tired eyes partly as an excuse to hide his face burning at his stupid statement.

"How much sleep are you getting?"

"Enough," Harry shot out defensively as his eyes darted back to the psychologist's, the younger man's glasses also did a better job of concealing the bags beneath his eyes, "Considering the circumstances. I can't truly rest with the Shadows still out there, with my son still out there."

"Any word on James?" Flan asked and Harry shook his head sadly, he worried for his son greatly and wanted nothing more then to know his eldest was alright.

"Not yet. I still believe he's part of Varanian's Gray lot, he rivals only the Shadow Master in staying off our radar so it's not useful for finding James. And I know it's the not the priority, the Shadows are," Harry added, holding up his hands defensively. After all, he blamed himself in part for the attack on Hogwarts and Hogsmeade a few months ago, if he hadn't been so focused on trying to find his missing son then he might not have almost lost his younger two children, "We stop the Shadow Master, the world - including James - is safer and then I can just focus on finding him."

"I guess that means in regards to Cald-"

"Tom Riddle III," Harry corrected icily, Flan glanced at him but said nothing, "And yes, considering the continued path of attack I find it unlikely that he is the Shadow Master. Either Voldemort had a second son or the guy is just lying, probably trying to instill added fear using the reputation preceding him or just bolster his own importance by claiming Riddle's heritage and trying to steal his identity. Something he has literally done in the past."

"Has he said anything?"

"About the Shadow Master? No," Harry admitted and shook his head for the second time, "Considering their similar mastery of magic, if they weren't siblings then they were trained together at some point so he's either protecting his brother or his friend. I'm quite confident he definitely knows the identity though, he just isn't talking even in exchange for his freedom."

"What freedom?" Flan scoffed, "He's been outed as Voldemort's son. If there's people campaigning for his execution now, imagine what it would be like if he was released? He couldn't go back to Hogwarts, he couldn't go back to his life. He's already lost any incentive he had for himself so why not protect this person he considers family?"

"The Shadow Master's evil, he should give us the guy's identity because it's the right thing to do," Harry protested determinedly, "If you were him, are you telling me you would protect this person?"

"If you were him, are you telling me you wouldn't?" Flan countered with an eyebrow rising, "It's easy to be on the outside looking in but from his perspective, right and wrong isn't so black and white when love and loyalty are involved."

"Do you think he'll turn eventually?" Harry questioned thoughtfully, in truth he hadn't given too much thought to Riddle's mindset and Flan was often useful at gauging that kind of thing. He rubbed his eyes again, maybe he did need more sleep if he missing things. Not that sleep came easily these days, he'd lay awake worrying and wondering about James or consoling Ginny for the same reason.

"I couldn't say," Flan shrugged it off and Harry felt a twinge of irritation towards to the Minister who was exceptionally strict on who could see Riddle, he a poor substitute for Kingsley in his eyes and didn't seem to trust Harry's judgement. He'd have to talk to him about letting Flan see him, whenever he eventually showed up, "Haven't even spoken to him since before his incarceration so I'm not sure where he stands, I'm afraid."

"It's okay, Alaric is just frustratingly paranoid about Riddle and who sees him."

"I thought I felt my ears burning," a voice commented, the Minister's voice. Alaric Layton.

Harry jolted to his feet in an instant, noticing the Minister himself now idly leaning in the doorway with his arms folded and an amused smirk playing on his face, showing off his quite pointed teeth. His smile didn't quite reach his navy-blue eyes though, it seemed too tired to despite his attempts to mask it. He was maybe slightly taller than average and had a medium build, his light brown hair was cropped and he was unusually good-looking. Harry had never seen a wedding ring on his finger though, he dressed quite plainly but nonetheless in robes of good quality and he always had a clean, presentable look to him and a cool, commanding air. He didn't usually look tired though, that would make him look human. Then again, he did allegedly have some kind of unnamed chronic illness that kept him away half the time but Harry wasn't unconvinced it was just a lie he used to get time off. That was how little faith he had in him.

"Minister, I didn't expect you to be in today," Harry greeted him civilly, "Especially since its three in the morning and all."

"Didn't you catch the evening edition of the Prophet?" Alaric questioned and inclined his hand to the paper on Harry's desk, Harry's emerald eyes drifted to it and his mood darkened again as he recalled the news, "It's on the front page if you haven't had a glance yet. I've been dealing with that since the news hit, which was slightly sooner for me then the press. Countries to contact, a muggle counterpart to calm, et cetera, et cetera… Not things to postpone or pass on to others any rate, illness or no."

"What illness would that be?" Flan wondered curiously and Alaric gave him a cold smile.

"None of your business," Alaric stated calmly but firmly, the exact same response he'd once given Harry when he'd asked, "Anyway, the Shadows took Turkey much faster than they took Greece which is the smaller country. Greece was the first, the Shadow Master will have had more of an idea of what works better and faster plus the resources of the country he conquered to get through Turkey faster. The streamlining of the process will only continue, I don't think they'll wait as long before moving on to their next target. Considering what happened with Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, that may very well be us or they could stick with their kind of current vicinity. We don't know yet but still we must make preparations."

"If you're going to start hiring underage wizards as Aurors, I'm walking out that door," Harry stated seriously, thanks to him lowering the entry requirements there was an overabundance as it was.

"Don't be silly, I couldn't do that. I could_ lower_ the age wizards become adults though," Alaric started to say before raising his hand as if to stop himself, "But not my point or my plan at this stage."

"What is it then?"

"The Muggles are getting really worried, their population is larger than ours and they too are suffering. Trade routes are affected by these countries falling, their planes - big flying machines - can't travel over Greece or Turkey without never being heard from again. There's millions of muggles now at the mercy of the Shadows, assuming they've been shown enough mercy to not simply be culled but I don't think they are-"

"You don't?" Harry couldn't help but interrupt in surprise, "Voldemort wanted to kill them all."

"The Shadow Master's not Voldemort, he may not even be his son. I don't think he cares as much about blood purity and we know he has a werewolf army, muggles _can_ be werewolves too. It's just not as common because they don't tend to survive it as well and werewolves tend to seek magical blood – probably because of this. Like any race, the instinct is to not die out. They just continue the line different to most species – but I don't think the Shadows would care about that. They'll just care about turning as many weak-minded people as possible if they want this army to prosper."

"Weak-minded?"

"Fools who'd rather follow an alpha instead of their own initiative."

"Werewolves can't help it, its instinct to respond to the call of their own kind," Flan pointed out.

"There's a difference between responding to the call of their own kind and obeying everything their kind tell them to do," Alaric protested with a look of scorn, "Of course acting on primal werewolf behavior is bad since they desire spreading it and satisfying hunger but if they acted like the wolves they're supposed to be instead of sheep then it wouldn't have been so easy for Greyback and the Shadows to weaponize them as an army. I suppose it just goes to show that werewolves are still human after all, you know since most people are sheep."

"You know a lot about werewolves."

"I know a lot about a lot of things, my tutors were very thorough with my education," Alaric insisted defensively, unfolding his arms and striding over to them, "But we slipped off target slightly, my point was the Muggle Minister wanted to tell the British Army about magic to better prepare them to be able to fight. It's their country too and there are more of them than us, we'd do better to fight united rather than divided."

"And you agreed to that?" Harry wondered incredulously, "I'm all for cooperation but that's a lot of muggles to reveal magic to."

"I didn't agree to _that_," Alaric said with a patronizing roll of his eyes, "Honestly, what kind of fool do you take me for?"

"What did you agree to then?"

"Just a handful of them, an elite group to work with you in devising ways for muggles to combat wizards. Should the time come we're invaded, they can pass this stuff on to the rest of the muggle forces."

"And you want me to do it personally?" Harry wondered tiredly, he wasn't sure he had the time to undertake such a task although he did quite like the idea itself. Maybe Alaric wasn't entirely bad. He still didn't trust him though.

"Yes, I know you're not a Shadow and would do a good job. If they find out, they'll likely kill the muggles so its imperative the Shadows don't know."

"I have people I trust, Ron or Cel-"

"Not people I'm sure aren't Shadows though," Alaric interjected dismissively and Harry resisted the urge to throw an irrational accusing look at Flan, they'd argued recently over the possibility of his protege being a Shadow after all but he doubted Alaric knew or cared about that, "If you want to pass it on to someone else, _I_ need to approve them. Th-"

Alaric was cut off as an alarm started wailing, the one Harry had set up to alert him if a prison break was occurring in the cells. And there was only one prisoner in the cells at present. Riddle. Harry was on his feet in an instant, his wand already in his hand and his body in motion. He heard a scrambling of feet as Flan and Alaric hastened after him.

"Why is there an alarm?" Alaric demanded of him.

"Indicates a cell break," Harry answered for him.

"No, I mean why is there an alarm in the first place? You need authorization from _me_ to do these things and I was not informed."

"I got fed up waiting for you to return to ask when I felt it was necessary to today I thought to hell with it, I'll just put it up and if you don't approve then I can always take it down," Harry explained irritably, "But right now there are more pressing concerns like stopping the escape so with all due respect, this can wait so either go back to your office or draw your wand."

"My wand's already drawn," Alaric pointed out dryly and Harry spared a glance that confirmed it, Flan fumbled to draw his though and almost dropped it.

"You may have to use it, we don't know what the situation is."

"I know how to use a wand to defend myself."

"Should-Should I go back then?" Flan wondered worriedly as they reached the prison corridors.

Flan was poor with magic to the point of failing his OWLs after all and the last time Harry had tried to improve his defensive magic – he considered it potentially necessary considering he worked with Aurors and was privy to sensitive information – Flan had ended up somehow stunning himself. However considering the Ministry was mostly deserted due to the late hour, if anyone slipped or had slipped past then Flan could be a sitting duck. He may be better off just with him, Alaric was staying as well and he could be an even worse duelist.

"No, it's too late. Just stay behind me," Harry decided and shifted his gaze to Alaric who inclined his head as if in acceptance, seeming to be willing to let him take the lead here since he had the experience. He hoped so, the last thing he needed was an inexperienced back seat driver getting in the way, "Stay close to me both of you and keep your eyes peeled."

Harry strode in and closed the door behind him, sealing it behind and silencing the alarm so they'd be able to listen for signs of attackers and with any luck no one would be able to get in or out until he desired it. He crept down the dark, dimly lit corridor cautiously with Alaric on his right and Flan behind. After all, he had no way of knowing what he was up against, if Riddle had simply gotten loose or if someone was trying to break him out which meant they could be up against the Shadow Master's Soul Eaters or Varanian's Gray vigilantes.

A jet of light sprang out abruptly from around the next corner, Harry made to move his wand but Alaric must've heard something beforehand because he was already brandishing his and a shield sprang up to deflect it while Harry had the perfect opportunity to get an attack in instead but the attacker jumped back behind the wall before Harry's spell could strike with perfect accuracy the space his – or her – hand had just been.

"I am Harry Potter, Head Auror! Identify yourself and surrender yourself into my custody or I will do so with force," Harry called out.

In response, he saw a flick of a wrist as the hand stretched out again and this time Harry was the one to slam up a shield while Alaric had already fired a jet of white light. It caught the hand before it could disappear, cracking against the pink flesh with a sound like whip that caused the attacker to cry out in pain. It held his hand there while the wand went flying, Alaric jerked his wrist and the stream of white lurched, swinging violently back and dragging the attacker with it. He was smashed into the wall – Harry wasn't sure if that was done intentionally or just the impetus from being yanked back – before falling back onto the ground as the spell left him and Harry silenced him with a stunner.

"Not bad, Alaric," Harry admitted as he stepped forward to take a look at the man, feeling a disappointed pang to realize it was an Auror. Not one who was supposed to be guarding Riddle though. He supposed at least it meant one Shadow Auror down, he'd known there were traitors and it wasn't someone he knew well at least.

"I told you my tutors were thorough. Nice work also, Leebin," Alaric nodded before his tone turned sarcastic while Harry quickly blasted the man with a Patronus to ensure he wasn't being influenced by a Specter. He wasn't.

"I couldn't see him," Flan protested, sounding somewhere between defensive and ashamed while Harry quickly conjured bonds to bind the Auror for later.

"You don't need to see the attacker to put up a shield."

"I wasn't very good at Shield Charms."

"Well _try_," Alaric insisted and before Harry could reply, the sound of running footsteps breached their ears.

Harry spun to the direction of the sound, or the direction he thought it was coming from as they were at a particular fork and the cascading echo seemed to make it sound as if they were running all around. His choice proved to be correct as two more Aurors rounded the bend, twin jets of stunners shot from his and Alaric's wands towards them but one of them whipped up a shield while his companion shot a spell back.

"_Protego!_" Flan cried.

Instead of a shimmering shield, he only managed to produce a wispy disc that immediately dispersed into the air around them as a kind of mist that just made it hard to see. Alaric was forced to conjure a nonverbal shield instead as the fog didn't faze the spells and they'd have a hard time dodging it through the haze made worse by the poor light. Beyond, he heard the Aurors snickering at Flan's failed spell and the psychologist's face reddened with an expression of shame.

Harry took advantage of the fact that if they couldn't see, the others wouldn't be able to either and waved his wand over the ground. Beyond them it lurched as if he'd shaken out a carpet, hearing their laughter turn to cries of surprise and thuds as they were knocked to the ground. He and Alaric fired blindly into the fold once more, firing in rapid succession in the hopes of hitting one of them but it was impossible to see and he could hear spells colliding with shields with the scraping of stone indicating someone was fighting to get to their feet.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Flan added, shooting his own attempt to disarm them into the fog.

"Don't say the spells out loud, they'll hear you and it'll give away our position!" Alaric hissed at him irritably, causing Flan to look even more ashamed.

"But I can't-"

"Either try it or shut up!"

Alaric sliced his wand through the air, dispelling the fog to reveal one had fallen while another was still defending himself but not managing much else considering he was being rapidly fired at and couldn't see to dodge, forcing him to use Shield Charms. Harry wasn't surprised, the one still standing was one of his superior fighters but nonetheless he was sure he could best him. Even if they didn't outnumber him three to one now. Or two and a bit to one since Flan lacked his father's good dueling ability… or any dueling ability really.

Flan apparently thought to try though, out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of light from Flan's wand but it burst backwards in the wrong direction. Harry couldn't help but turn as Flan was thrown backwards by his own spell, colliding painfully with the wall behind them and crumpling to the ground with his wand flying several feet away from him. Alaric had looked as well and a scampering of footsteps was heard at the Auror fled back the way he'd come, Harry made a move to check Flan was alright but Alaric's hand latched onto his arm.

"He's breathing, he's fine, let's not let this guy get away," Alaric insisted and Harry hesitated a moment, reluctant to leave his friend but also wanting to go after the traitor.

"Go," Flan agreed as he stirred, saving Harry the trouble of worrying.

Harry bolted with Alaric without wasting another a second, they rounded the bend and the Auror was still visibly fleeing. Alaric fired a stunner that the Auror dodged so Harry aimed for the ground again, turning the patch around the Auror to ice abruptly. Harry wasn't sure whether he tried to stop or turn but at any rate, the man failed as he instead slipped and fell. He managed to conjure a Shield Charm but it wasn't enough to repel three jets of red and he wasn't in any position to avoid them… Three jets?

Harry shifted his gaze to see his Teddy Lupin approaching from the other end of the corridor with his wand outstretched, Teddy was his godson and nephew-in-law since his marriage to Victoire Weasley. Teddy had chosen to follow in his mother's footsteps a few years out of Hogwarts and become an Auror, along with Victoire who was also an Auror now as well. Both were supposed to be guarding Riddle, he only had people he trusted guarding him and for good reason it seemed.

"Did you see two more on your way down?" Teddy questioned breathlessly, his expression anxious and his hair currently a neat black cut which he called his 'work hair' since he was a metamorphmagus and could change it at will, "They were trying to break Calderon out."

"Saw and stunned," Harry confirmed, resisting the urge to correct the name and Teddy nodded in understanding. Harry waved his wand and the Auror became bound while Teddy retrieved the man's fallen wand.

"That's all of them then."

"What happened, Teddy?"

"A group of Aurors came to us claiming you-" Teddy paused in his explanation to nod his head in Harry's direction, "-Wanted him in interrogation and we should hand him over to them so he could be escorted there while we went home, it seemed legit and they a written letter from you in your handwriting or at least a good forgery. Hal was suspicious though and insisted it was no trouble for him to go along just to make sure everything went alright since Calderon's such a high value prisoner, we agreed and then got suspicious when they tried to reject the idea. So they just attacked and tried to make a break for it, we managed to get Calderon back and those still standing fled when the alarm started up. No deaths and no serious injury on our side."

"Well this Hal just earned himself a promotion," Alaric mused thoughtfully as he scratched his chin, "How was Calderon about the abduction?"

"Seemed as surprised as we were, against it. He was pretty willing to get back into our custody not go with the… whatever team those guys were on."

"Shadows," Flan announced as rejoined them, rubbing the back of his head but seeming otherwise unscathed from his spell while the beautiful blond-haired Victoire walked in from Teddy's side, looking relieved to see her husband alright, "One of them has the Shadow Mark. Plus those three wouldn't have sided with Varanian and his vigilantes, Bronn especially."

"Yeah, he's wanted his blood since Varanian bested him dueling and evaded arrest," Teddy confirmed with a nod and Harry recalled this to be true.

"People lie," Alaric pointed out and Teddy threw him a thinly veiled dark look, he had not been fond of the law Alaric had introduced a few years ago about werewolves being forced to wear bracelets to identify them. The law was abolished now though and Alaric had even claimed to Scorpius Malfoy recently to be against it himself, Harry had no idea if it was the truth or not. Regardless, Teddy liked him even less than Harry did, "Maybe it was just an act."

"Not about this, Bronn's been here for years and he was very proud," Harry defended their deduction, "He was unforgiving and despised being bested, long before the Shadow War. I think it's likely they were Shadows."

"Well I guess we'll find out when they're interrogated," Alaric shrugged it off, "I think they are as well, Varanian's group is too new to have that many followers. If he had them in his pocket then he wouldn't have had to resort to using an underage boy to help break him out of confinement before, he also wouldn't have needed to forge a letter either since he could become Harry like he did once before to get Aurors to obey him. That would have aroused less suspicion. No, this was the Shadows, they planned on getting him but didn't account for the alarm or Hal's conviction."

"I agree. Teddy, Vic, could you gather the rest of you and secure these guys? Then do a sweep, make sure they were the only ones and get me a list of their names. I'll watch Riddle until then."

"Yes, I wanted to see him. Do it, Lupin," Alaric agreed and Harry scowled behind the Minster's back, he'd hoped he'd just go and leave Harry to deal with this the way he wanted. Teddy exchanged the same look with him as he passed by to obey, his hair flickering red in annoyance, "Come on then."

"Okay," Harry nodded and gestured for the out of place Flan to come along as he started leading three of them, he figured it was as good a time as any to get Flan to speak to Riddle. He noticed unconscious bound bodies as he walked, signs of dueling and the others on guard with Riddle securing them. He stayed alert, his wand still ready in case of more.

"So tell me, who exactly was on guard?"

"For Riddle?" Harry wondered, taken by surprise by the question but Alaric was looking quite serious about it, "Teddy and Victoire Lupin, Louis Weasley and Hal Davis who are in-training, Aitor Arkaitz, Borys Rurisk, Eudoxia Holt and Arturas Eklund, who is a Senior Auror. Why?"

"Because I now deem those people extremely unlikely to be Shadows, they're the ones to put your faith in. They're the _only_ ones allowed to guard Calderon now, do you understand?_ Just_ those eight and _no one_ else. You can also use one of them deal with the muggle training if you wish and are too busy to do it personally."

"I understand," Harry agreed through gritted teeth, not liking the patronizing tone. Besides, there were others he deemed trustworthy and their only crime had been to get the night off.

"You don't like me much, do you, Potter?" Alaric wondered, sounding more curious than anything else and taking him by surprise yet again. Harry debated how to phrase his answer in an as non-offensive way as possible, he may not like Alaric but being enemies with the Minister might make life more difficult for him and the Shadow War worse.

"I don't know you," Harry said finally, "So I find it hard to trust you."

"Fair enough, you never will know me either and you never should trust me, you should never trust _anyone_. Not completely. I'm not a Shadow though, you should trust that. We're on the same side."

Harry was spared having to consider a reply as they arrived at Riddle's cell, one of the larger, older and furthest in but still empty beyond a toilet and a small cot covered only by a threadbare blanket. Voldemort's son lay on the bed, Tom Riddle III, who had taken the alias Marius Calderon for many years as he'd wormed his way in to work in Hogwarts as an assistant. He couldn't help but feel a sting of bitter betrayal whenever he saw him, he'd deemed the lunatic trustworthy after all and while he had severe doubts the man was a Soul Eater, Riddle had still lied to him and called his judgment into question. Riddle was incredibly powerful, capable of doing mass wandless feats - which was a trait the Shadow Master shared - and the reason he was far too dangerous to be let out. Plus, he was _Voldemort's_ son.

Riddle didn't look especially threatening considering his parentage, he seemed to have taken after Voldemort's original appearance as Tom Riddle rather than the snakelike monstrosity he'd become. Harry supposed this made sense considering it was genetics, Voldemort had brought the later appearance on himself not been born that way. He was a handsome man like his father before him and his maternal Black line due to Bellatrix Lestrange being his mother, he was just forty and very pale with dark eyes and darker hair that was unkempt due to his time in captivity. He was dressed in dirty gray prison robes and been stripped of his usual possessions along with his magic, thanks to the help of a Power-Repressing potion they'd invented.

One side of his face was red and swelling as if he'd been hit extremely recently, probably during the break out attempt. His eyes were closed and aimed up at the dull ceiling, not seeming to notice or care for their entrance. Harry wondered vaguely how much of that was a side effect of the weakness caused by the potion he was on and how much grief, he'd been born a prisoner and was once again. According to Riddle, he'd been born to Bellatrix in Azkaban - hence why his existence was unknown as the Dementors were unwilling to lose an extra victim - and raised there until her escape which extended to him. Harry wasn't sure he believed that, although it fit with the timeline and might link to why he was notably unhinged. According to Riddle, the only reason he existed was Voldemort had decided an heir would make a good Horcrux, his son had been intended to be nothing more than a tool before his timely downfall. That, Harry believed.

"Hello Calderon," Alaric greeted him neutrally.

"Hey," Riddle offered, not sparing them a glance but his eyes flicked open still.

"What happened to your face?" Harry asked of him, not wanting his prisoners mistreated.

"An Auror was rough getting me back into my cell," Riddle shrugged tiredly and closed his eyes again, a far cry from the energetic, eccentric assistant he'd been until recently, "I wasn't trying to escape, I didn't know those people. I accept my fate, I was born to never be free."

"Well that's depressing," Flan commented mostly to himself and made to move closer to speak to him but Alaric stopped him.

"It's also irrelevant, as are you," Alaric pointed out, eying him disapprovingly while Harry did the same to the Minister. Harry supposed he was in that moment, he should've just sent him home when Alaric came in and said they'd continue their conversation tomorrow with hopefully not another country would be conquered to distract them. Nonetheless, Harry wasn't unsealing the door now until the sweep was done at the very least so the Minister would just have to live with it, "What matters is that we can't hold him here anymore, it's not safe. Now we know for sure the Shadows are after him, we know this and we also know they'll likely keep trying."

"There are safe houses we can send him too," Harry offered, "With those eight alternating as guards."

"No," Alaric said with a shake of his head, leaning back against the bars of Riddle's cell as he folded his arms, "The Shadows have access to Auror knowledge, anything that comes from the Ministry or is linked to us could be figured out too easily. We need somewhere _not_ like that, something that would be difficult to trace, maybe a muggle dwelling…"

"My uncle's farm," Flan blurted out immediately and sounding desperate to be of use, surprising them both, Alaric that he'd spoken and Harry as he knew Flan's only uncle was very much a wizard and not a farmer, "It's a muggle dwelling, been in my family for a while but no one's known enough about muggles to sell it so it's still owned but just not used. My uncle let my family stay there while our home was being rebuilt in Hogsmeade and said to use it as long as we needed because he doesn't use it at all, it's very much in a state of disuse and has been so for a long time, it's not hooked up to the Floo Network or anything. With some magic it could be salvageable as a safe house, it's in-"

"Don't tell us," Alaric interrupted, holding up his hand and for a split second Flan seemed disappointed his offer to help was being rejected but the Minister elaborated, "Don't tell anyone, the less who know its location the better."

"No," Harry protested, horrified at the idea of using Flan's farmhouse and wondering just how much of this was because Alaric had made him feel bad for his poor dueling skills, "You're not an Auror, he's not trained and he didn't sign up for this. Don't you realize if they found out that he'd be a target for the Shadows? You'd be in danger, Flan."

"And I'm not already?" Flan wondered, raising an eyebrow, "My home's been destroyed twice in two years, there's only so many times they can raze Hogsmeade before my family and I perish. I want to help, Harry, and it wouldn't be good if the Shadows got their hands on Calderon. Not for his own welfare or the world if he ends up joining them."

"Besides, you and I will be the _only_ ones who know Leebin here is the one providing the location," Alaric pointed out, "I've never revealed a secret in my life and unless you start telling people, he should be fine. They're likely to suspect regular Aurors with muggle holdings before they jump to a lousy Psych Healer. Plus, you're an Occlumens, right?"

"Yes."

"Even more perfect, they won't be able to easily acquire the information."

"There are other ways of acquiring information," Harry growled disapprovingly.

"Well if you get caught, stall and if we don't hear from in say… three days - since you usually take two on the full moon to care for your family - then we'll assume you've been compromised and move Calderon. Just stall them and it will be okay," Alaric assured him and Flan looked thankfully slightly more disconcerted at this thought, the Shadows weren't beyond torture or killing to achieve their ends.

"It will only be okay for _us_," Harry insisted.

"They own two countries to hide people in, a captive is likely a dead man so just try not get him killed by giving his name up and Calderon stays safe. You okay with that, Leebin?"

"Think of your family," Harry prompted and Flan looked a bit more uncertain now, much to Harry's relief while Alaric seemed annoyed he was trying to sway him. Harry did not want to put a civilian at risk, it wasn't right, "They need you alive."

"If you die from this, your family will be taken care of."

"They-They will?" Flan wondered, looking hopeful.

"Of course," Alaric said seriously and met the other man's eyes, he sounded sincere at least, "It would be the Ministry's fault, and they deserve compensation. If you die because of this, I give you my _word_ that your family will be financially stable for the rest of their lives."

"Okay, I'll do it," Flan agreed with a hefty sigh.

"Don't! You'll get yourself killed, there are more important things then money and you _know _what it's like to lose a father young. I'd give every last Knut of my family's wealth to have been raised by my parents," Harry pleaded desperately and Flan's expression wavered for a moment as he seemed to consider it, Harry should have stopped there, "This is a bad idea, an Auror should do it. I'm sure there's some with a muggle property and they're trained, they're prepared. It's their fight not yours."

"I'm prepared," Flan insisted, his expression switching immediately to one of determination and irritation, "And this war affects all of us. I want to help, I'm doing it regardless of the risks and the potential consequences."

"Yes, but let's hope it doesn't come to that," Alaric spoke up again, looking quite satisfied but his tiredness more prominent, "We'll set it up. And one more thing, Harry."

"What?" Harry complained.

"You can't tell anyone about this, not your wife, not Hermione, not even Cel Rooke or Ron Weasley."

"You can't be serious," Harry spluttered out, "They're trust-"

"No," Alaric interrupted with a note of finality as his deep, dark navy eyes met Harry's bright, shining emerald ones, "You are not allowed to tell them under _any_ circumstances, do you understand?"

Harry said nothing, he trusted them completely which was more than could be said for Alaric.

"They could still be Shadows or even just being forced to work for them, they are closest to you so it's not far-fetched the Shadows would think to use them. They are _not_ to be told, even the eight Aurors don't get to find out Leebin's identity. The less people know, the less chance this is compromised. And you're the one more invested in his life being spared anyway," Alaric elaborated his explanation, "You are not to tell them, do you hear me?"

"Fine," Harry agreed with severe reluctance, forcing the word from his mouth. It almost sounded like a betrayal of his oldest friends and protege to even suggest he may not trust them by agreeing to Alaric.

"Good."


	2. VI: Leaders

_**Thanks to:** Colin Creevey, Denise, percyjackson42, JIzzle04, Lucifersdaughter and tinyxheart for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_What on earth do Shadows want with Calderon?_**  
><em>Mostly so he won't be able to tell the Aurors anything<em>

**_Why Turkey?_**  
><em>Because its beside Greece so easy to move their armies there and is kind of a bridge from Europe to Asia, Sal wants the world not just Europe<em>

* * *

><p>Brutus Ashain stared out across the broken streets of Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, which had been a thriving metropolis not too long ago. Now it was a wreck, the taller buildings had crumbled as if they were little more than towers of children's blocks and the majority of the smaller had collapsed in on themselves if not having been crushed by the taller. The streets were cracked, the ground itself ripped apart by the Shadow Master's power and littered by rubble from the destroyed buildings, spilling out over the pools of silver left behind by the metallic muggle vehicles that had been melted down. Overhead Specter-controlled dragons circled idly in the only recently cleared dawn sky, it looked like it had been stained by blood.<p>

Brutus wasn't a victim of the attack though, he was on the side that had caused it. He was overseeing it all with his dark chestnut eyes, standing on the balcony on a central building that had been rebuilt magically to act as a temporary base for them. Despite being fifty years old now, his eyes remained as sharp as the hawk that was his Patronus. His extremely dark auburn hair remained thick and untouched by age, his burly muscular body still strong and his reflexes better than most younger men. He was in perfect health, except for the deformity he'd been born with. His six-fingered hands were all random lengths and twisted at the wrong angles, his face so grotesque people who didn't know him had trouble deciphering his expression or telling his age from it. And that was just what was visible.

"I don't understand, what am I looking at?" a child's unhappy voice commented, reminding Brutus he wasn't there to reflect alone, "Another Greek city we wrecked, so what?"

"Turkey. This is Turkey, not Greece," Brutus corrected and glanced at his much smaller companion.

Vathan was only four years old yet already hurt, he wore sleeveless robes due to the intense summer heat which revealed layers of random words of different sizes scarred into them through his wrists and his hands due to the blood quills his school used. It didn't hide the writhing skeletal snake symbols burned into both arms, the Shadow Mark their group used but Vathan's mother had inflicted on him without authorization. His hair dark with a slight wave to it and his eyes were a mossy green, sad eyes as he'd recently been orphaned and his half-brother abducted. He was Rabastan Lestrange's son, one of the Shadow Master's Lieutenants like Brutus was and someone he'd considered a friend. Brutus should have sent Vathan back to continue his training as they'd replaced the teachers who'd been killed recently by now, and yet… he hadn't. He felt like the boy was his responsibility now, he didn't want him to be sent back to that school. He could learn here, finding tutors wasn't difficult considering how many they ruled.

"Whatever," Vathan shrugged disinterestedly, still staring out from the steps Brutus had conjured to give him a better view over the balcony, "So why am I looking?"

"Because it's the job of leaders to oversee things, make sure the people beneath you are doing their job," Brutus explained to him.

"But I'm not a leader, am I?"

"Your father was one of the Shadow Master's Lieutenants and you're my ward now," Brutus told him seriously and gestured to the people below them, "You're above those people down there, they'd have to do what you say if you asked if they want me to let them live, you're a leader."

"Okay," Vathan nodded and sighed, "What job are they supposed to be doing then?"

While the city was in ruin, the streets weren't empty. Soul Eaters stormed them, leading clusters of newly imprisoned muggle slaves. They'd all been branded with a cross on their right cheeks to mark them as muggles, as slaves, and had already been divided by age and gender. Children would be raised to learn the history of their superior magical brethren and taught to be good slaves, the adults further divided for which tasks seemed better for them and anyone useless would be part of the werewolf army or die trying. Resistance – for adults – resulted in death, they didn't have time and there were plenty of muggles, millions in fact and the dead could be of use to. After all, he humans weren't the only things walking the streets, columns of horrific skeletal beings devoid of life also were being lead. Inferi. The bodies of those who hadn't survived the attack, reanimated on a mass scale by the Shadow Master and twistedly marching to join the rest of the army. Brutus didn't like them but they were useful. He felt his heart twist painfully whenever he saw a figure small enough to be a dead child, he had a soft spot for children. Unfortunately, even filthy muggle ones. There were millions of people in Ankara alone, he didn't want to think about how many had perished.

"Organizing," Brutus answered plainly before elaborating, "Slaves are being led to the left and Inferi to the right."

"And this is the better world? Full of dead people and slaves?" Vathan questioned neutrally and Brutus nodded, although it didn't sound too good when he put like that.

"They're just muggles and we need the Inferi to get what we want. For us wizards, it's better. It doesn't seem like it now because it's still in progress but when it's done, you'll see."

"Br-Brutus," Vathan stammered out abruptly, his face draining of color as he turned to him as if he'd just thought of something horrific, "You don't… You don't think that… that th-they m-made m-my Daddy and Mummy l-like that?"

"No. Our enemies wouldn't resort to that," Brutus assured him and the child nodded in relief, turning back and relaxing.

"Good," Vathan confirmed and looked thoughtful, "I'm glad they didn't but from a strategy view, it's letting the corpses of your enemies go to waste. No wonder we're going to win this war."

"You think we'll win?" Brutus mused and Vathan turned back to him, his expression deathly serious and looking just like his father for a minute.

"My parents died for this war. We're going to win, they can't have died for no reason," Vathan told him in a strictly serious tone but his eyes started tearing up, "I can't have lost everything for nothing."

"We'll win," Brutus affirmed and rubbed Vathan's shoulder comfortingly, the boy gave a weak smile that faded an instant later as tears continued to flicker in his eyes.

"Do… Do you have any news about Oathan?"

"No," Brutus admitted and Vathan looked disheartened, Oathan was his missing half-brother. One of their own had killed the staff of the Training Tower school and taken the boy- apparently his son – for reasons unknown.

"Do you think Oathan is even still alive? For real alive not like a Inferi."

"Of course he is," Brutus said with confidence but Vathan looked down, seemingly unconvinced and Brutus raised his head so their eyes met, "Look at me. If Florian wanted him to die then he would have killed him with the others but he didn't, he wouldn't have taken him if he didn't want him alive. We'll get Oathan back, okay? I promise."

"Okay," Vathan nodded, looking more reassured and managed a weak smile, "Thank Brutus."

"Okay, let's get you back inside. Everything seems to be in order," Brutus offered, clapping the boy on the back before they headed back inside the sliding glass doors.

He truly did intend to keep his promise. Florian was a liability and the boy innocent, Brutus had a soft spot for half-brothers and very much knew what it was like to have one missing. Soul Eaters hunted Florian daily with strict instructions – and the threat of death – if they did not retrieve the child alive. Florian had proved himself to be a talented duelist but Brutus was confident they could capture him, if it came to it than they could just overwhelm him with numbers. There was only so much one man could do before tiring. Really, Brutus felt it should only be a matter of time. Unfortunately, time wasn't moving fast enough.

He sent Vathan back to his tutor to continue his magical education – without blood quills – before wandering through the compound in search of his children or his lover to ask for news, heading to the nursery room. He heard them before he saw them, laughing innocently like normal children. It brought a smile to his face. He entered the nursery, which was looking quite plain considering they had only recently moved in but there were still two cribs and baby toys littering the soft, thick white carpet. There was also a couch, this was where his children were and his lover: Salazia "Sal" Riddle, or The Shadow Master as the rest of the world knew her.

Sal didn't look like the monster they thought was trying to take over the world, she didn't even look threatening. Brutus looked more evil then she did. She was ten years his junior and still very beautiful, flawless ivory skin contrasted with night black hair that hung in waves and matched her dark eyes. She was no longer emaciated as she'd been as a child with her upbringing in Azkaban but retained a slender frame, even after motherhood. She was lying on her back on the couch, her head propped on the arm and her knees bent. Their two bundles of joy were sitting on her, leaning back against the bent legs. She was amusing them by making motions with her hands, conjuring a dazzling display of lights before their eyes.

Brutus kept his smile as he leaned against the wall, watching his family happily. This was what he wanted, just his family happy and at peace. This was the Sal he liked, the kindhearted woman with a soft spot for animals who loved him and adored their children. Not the ruthless Shadow Master who destroyed cities, killed thousands and enslaved millions, intent on world domination. He just wanted peace.

"Master, I've finished running the twins their bath," a slave commented in accented English as she shuffled back into the room from another door, a middle-aged muggle marked by the cross on her cheek.

"Well Meryem, you've shown yourself to be a capable nanny so far," Sal commented thoughtfully, slowing the light-show, "All that really remains is that you answer one question."

"Yes, Master. Anything you desire."

"Tell me, which of the twins is your favorite?"

"My-My favorite?" Meryem repeated in surprise as Sal's sharp and very dark eyes darted to her in wait, the slave seemed to struggle with the question before stammering out an answer, "Well… erm… I don't really… err… I guess… um… L-Lazarus?"

"No," Sal stated and flicked her wrist as she turned back to the infants, fire erupted on the woman. She staggered back, screaming in agony as she was burned alive by magical flames, "The correct answer is none, you need to favor them _equally_. They're both perfect, they will never have to feel inferior even to each other."

Sal seemed oblivious to the woman she was letting burn alive, Meryem was still screaming as the skin was incinerated around her and the stench of her own flesh burning polluted the air. The one year old twins tried to look to the source of the sound but Sal reached out and took each of their little hands, keeping their attention on her as she smiled at them lovingly. She didn't take the flames off Meryem until a charred corpse collapsed onto the ground in place of… whoever she had been. The body then pulled itself up brokenly, dragging its body to the exit to presumably go join the rest of the Inferi.

"That's right," Sal cooed at the babies as Brutus made his approach, noticing for the first time the ancient Scepter lying on the ground beside her, "You're _both_ perfect, you're _both_ special, you're _both _loved. You never have to feel like you're not."

The babies gurgled at this, at just a year old they weren't capable of real speech yet or even comprehending her words. They were both perfect though, devoid of the deformities Brutus had feared passing on. Not because he wouldn't love them – like his own bitch of a mother had done, abandoning him at birth – but just because he didn't want them to have to endure what he had with the stares, the comments, the insults. Although he supposed it wouldn't matter, if Sal brutally murdered a woman for picking a favorite then he dreaded to think what she'd do to whoever was dumb enough to be mean to them and if on the off chance she did nothing, Brutus would. They clearly took after in looks, they were also both pale with dark eyes. The firstborn, Lazarus, had inherited Brutus' Ashain extremely dark auburn hair though while the younger Omega had hair as pitch as his mother's. Sal leaned forward and kissed each on the forehead before noticing his arrival as the twins called out 'Dada' happily, it never ceased to make him smile and Sal grinned at him too.

"Hey," Sal greeted him happily and reached out to give his hand a squeeze, she retained a love of holding his hand even still. He planted a kiss on her lips before ruffling the babies' hair, "Guess what I learned today?"

"That you shouldn't incinerate slaves?" Brutus guessed in a joking tone to hide the fact he was serious. Slaves or not, growing up with his Grandfather's treatment of house-elves left him feeling they had some responsibility to treat even slaves with some respect. She could have given her a quick death at least.

"No," Sal brushed it off dismissively, looking quite proud, "The twins are Parselmouths too."

* * *

><p>Pyrrhus Florian had long since squashed any hope of leaving the Soul Eaters because he knew they'd never let him leave, if he left he'd be hunted and it wouldn't be fun. Now, he realized that he'd been right. Celestine Rooke - the high ranking Shadow Auror - was making good use of his position to send both Soul Eaters and Aurors after him. He'd had too many close calls in too few months for his liking, even when things seemed calm he was forced to stay alert to the point he knew he was being paranoid but he couldn't help it. He had his three and half year old son with him, Oathan Loren, who he had to keep safe.<p>

He'd been teaching the boy to defend himself, getting him a wand, a knife and a gun – easy to mistake for a toy by wizards ignorant to muggle things – and training him to use all of them, as well as wandless magic. He didn't want Oathan to have to fight but he also accepted the risk to his life, if he died then Oathan needed to know how to protect himself. He'd used some frowned upon potions to improve the childish motor skills and made sure to impress upon the importance of it all, that was surprisingly not so hard but then he had been in a strict and cruel training to become a child-soldier prior to Pyrrhus saving him. Pyrrhus wasn't cruel in his methods of teaching though, he'd taught at Hogwarts for a time and found with children his suspicions of positive reinforcement, patient support and trying to make it fun worked just as well as negative reinforcement, brutal punishment and banning fun.

He had taken to Imperising muggles for the sake of teaching though, using them for more realistic scenarios of attack and showing Oathan the best places to hurt. He told Oathan they were simply puppets – which they kind of were, he regretted their lives were lost but all people were evil so it wasn't that bad – so he wouldn't hesitate to hurt or kill, it would better prepare him for if – who was he kidding? – _when_ he'd need to use it in a real attack. Oathan responded well, he'd been starved of affection from everyone but his maternal half-brother and treated horribly at the urging of his now deceased mother who had it out for him. Pyrrhus encouraged him to have a normal childhood too, letting him have toys and games, watch TV and time for play as well. It was incredibly rewarding helping rebuild his poor child's confidence, if only he'd known about his son sooner but alas, those were not the cards.

They were always on the move across the UK, staying in hotels, muggle homes, abandoned buildings or even in the various cars he traveled in as he considered it safer to travel in a mixture of ways and in a variety of places to throw off trackers. He had to move anyway, he was scouring the country for as much information he could find to help him in his plans to end the war and allow he and Oathan to live in peace. He barely slept for fear of being caught, scraping just a few hours every few days because his paranoia kept him up to keep watch at night and then during the day, he was loathe to waste previous seconds of light on sleeping. As a result, he was more high-strung than usual and his violently violet colored eyes had a constant – and uncomfortable – gritty, stinging feeling in them. What really worried him were the increase in flashbacks, his exhaustion often blurred the lines more between past and present, once he'd even accidentally killed a muggle fighting a memory. He made sure Oathan got a full eleven and half – he'd researched it as the average amount of time a child his age needed – a night, barring unforeseen events stopping it anyway such as an attack or Oathan waking from a nightmare. Oathan was the important one.

However, that night he was forced to leave his sleeping son. One of his nephews, Carver, was aiding him in his plans, as well as avoiding Soul Eaters and working as a kind of double agent. Frustratingly though, he had decided to make his aid conditional as part of the plan involved the deaths or harm and possible deaths – at the very least – and insisted he make sure there was literally no other way. He'd previously tried to strike a deal with the Head Auror, Harry Potter, for immunity and protection in exchange for information but they'd rudely tried to murder him which he had taken to mean 'no.' Carver wanted to make sure that option was definitely off the table, he insisted he go over Potter's Head to try see if there was any chance at all for a deal still. And so, Pyrrhus found himself at the elusive Minister for Magic's late one night while his son slept soundly miles away under a shitload of protective enchantments. Nonetheless, he wanted to get back and be there to protect his son.

Pyrrhus was an animagus and took the form of a moth, fluttering toward the house and bypassing the unusual amount of protection the Minster had elected to put around his home. It was an isolated place, several miles from the nearest town. There were no other magical homes and he'd say it was a muggle area but there were no muggle homes around either, just fields and woodland which belonged to no one. Really, he thought everyone put too much emphasis on wizards and muggles, they were all just people at the end of the day. The house wasn't a mansion but it wasn't a poor hovel either, maybe what a more upper class but no means excessively rich family would have. Despite the acres of land around it – which he wasn't sure came with the Minister's property or not – there was no garden, something he approved of. His father had been a gardener, souring his opinion of all things related to that.

He fluttered about, starting to look for an open window before realizing there was no need. The Minister had a set of double doors generously open despite the late hour, Pyrrhus knew it was summer but it still wasn't exactly a warm night. Not enough for double doors to be open by any means. Nonetheless, he flew in and found himself in a living room area although the fireplace – assuming he had one – wasn't there, maybe the kitchen. There was a massive couch and some more regular armchairs, an end table and a book shelf pretty much the length of the wall. Alaric Zyas Layton sat in one of the armchairs wearing nothing but a crimson bathrobe, looking ready to fall asleep in it as he sipped from a glass of some kind of spirits.

He didn't seem to have noticed Pyrrhus' arrival and so he decided to take a second to scour the house for some key to the Minister's personality, something to gauge how to approach him maybe or even just what kind of man he was dealing with. Not much was known about him after all. Pyrrhus found the search of the man's home surprisingly fruitless, it was very empty. There was an appropriate amount of furniture and there were things you would need, the bare necessities, it wasn't vacant although it was very spacious but… it was empty. There were no photographs at all, no portraits, no pictures at all, no tapestries, no ornaments, no decorations really, even the book covers were all blank to conceal the titles. There was nothing that expressed anything about himself or his personality or his likes, nothing meaningful at all. It was very neat too, nothing out of place but not to an extreme degree as if he was focused on cleanliness, rather just as if he liked to keep everything presentable in case he had company. Despite the fact, by all the accounts having guests over wasn't a regular occurrence and he lived alone so it had to be Alaric's choice.

Pyrrhus took this to mean one of several things; either Alaric was that bland in which case he was likely a puppet Minister for someone else, he was afraid to because he had some kind of dark or disturbing secret – something that was _wrong_ at any rate – he was paranoid about others seeing, or he simply had been raised in a repressing environment where he'd been taught not to or not been allowed to express himself. Pyrrhus flew back to the initial siting room, perching himself on the curtain to study the Minister one last time. He was still sitting in the armchair, resting his head on one hand while the other swirled his drink, his wand and a bottle of Firewhiskey on the table beside him. Deciding now was as a good a time as any, Pyrrhus swooped down and transformed back into his human form. He had a slender frame, was clean-shaven, in his late twenties and had a long, tangled mane of fiery red hair. Alaric's navy-blue eyes drifted to him in surprise but quickly calmed, watching him with interest and making no move for his wand.

"Not even going to try to defend yourself?" Pyrrhus couldn't help but question in bemusement as he aimed his wand at the Minister, "Most people react differently when a stranger breaks into their home."

"What's the point?" Alaric countered with a shrug, his voice sounding as tired as he looked, "If you wanted me dead then I'd be dead, I'm too weak to be fast right now because of my condition so I wouldn't stand a chance. I'm guessing you want something instead."

"I want the same thing I wanted from Potter. Immunity and protection, I'll give you information in return. He tried to kill me but you could go over his head," Pyrrhus decided to cut straight to the chase, grinning as it occurred to him that he also had a bargaining chip here that he hadn't had with Potter as he added, "And I'd seriously consider it if you want to live!"

"Really?" Alaric wondered before stunning Pyrrhus as he burst into laughter, genuine amused laughter. Pyrrhus scowled as the Minister wiped a tear from his eye and sobered, drinking the last of his alcohol as if he had all the time in the world and placing it on the table beside his wand. Alaric was the one smiling now, strangely completely confident, "Really? You think you can threaten _me_? On this night of all nights? _Nothing_ can threaten me tonight."

Pyrrhus felt even more confused by this, he opened his mouth to reiterate his threat and demand to know what he was talking about. He was distracted though as Alaric looked to the open doors as if expecting someone or something, Pyrrhus glanced too but saw nothing but the dark night and the shimmering full moon- Wait… He looked back to Alaric in panic, seeing the Minister was already turning.

The Minister of Magic was a _werewolf._ Crap.

Pyrrhus wasted no time, transforming back into a moth to flee. This proved to be grievous error on his part though as Alaric lunged for him with a snarl, he felt wolfish jaws snap around him painfully and heard a sickening crack. If he was capable of screaming as a moth, he would have. Alaric threw him back down roughly and Pyrrhus tried to fly again but the werewolf smacked him back down with his paw, he felt sharp claws slicing through his left wing and saw stars as he was smashed to the ground yet again. This time, Alaric kept his paw firmly in place to keep him pinned down. Pyrrhus tried to squirm free but the rush of pain was overwhelming as it only further tore through his fragile wing and he feared further attempts to free himself in case it was ripped off completely.

Pyrrhus flicked his tiny, hate-filled eyes to the Minister. He had never been in such close proximity to a transformed werewolf before, he looked like a regular wolf pretty much with the same gleaming eyes and a brown pelt except for the fact he was larger. Made even worse by the fact he was a freaking _moth_. Now the open doors made sense, it was so he could leave at will and the isolation made it unlikely anyone would see. Maybe he was even paranoid enough to stay outside and sneak back in only just before he needed to revert back or just if he wanted to stretch his wolfish legs. Of course, he couldn't ask him. He was a moth and Alaric was a werewolf, they had no way to communicate until they were humans again.

Alaric seemed to realize this too and settled himself down, lying much like a dog would and keeping his paw firmly set to keep Pyrrhus down. He rested his head down beside him, letting his tongue loll out over a row of sharp teeth. Pyrrhus got the impression it was either an amused or triumphant grin, he could only glare hopelessly back and wait for the sun to rise or Alaric to move his paw. He supposed in a way it was good he was trapped as a moth, if he was man then he was sure he would be bleeding out and he of course couldn't be turned. However, it didn't ease the immense pain he was in. Not even slightly.

It was one of the longest nights of his life, Pyrrhus wasn't sure if he remained conscious the entire time or not but whatever the case the large yellow eyes didn't look away. The dawn was his best chance to escape, Alaric would have to get off him to turn back and would hopefully be distracted by his transformation long enough for Pyrrhus to get away. He had to get away, he had to get back to Oathan. Time dragged by agonizingly slowly though, he could do nothing but wait. And think. Worrying about his son and plotting his revenge against Alaric, the bastard Minister would pay for this. Screw deals, screw Alaric! The only way he was telling Alaric anything was if it was as he slowly tortured him to death. Carver would just have to live with it, he had technically _tried_ to make an alliance before being viciously attacked. Why were people from the Ministry so rude? He was the one being civil here.

Finally, the tendrils of light started to creep in and it was Alaric's turn to be in pain. He removed his paw, howling in agony and staggering back as his body started to change. Pyrrhus didn't even spare him a glance though, focusing instead of dragging his battered body back up and forcing his broken wing to fly towards the open doors. Fresh waves of pain shot through him with every flap and his trajectory veered terribly, however he was making progress…

_BANG!_

Pyrrhus felt himself struck by a spell, his body was forced to revert back to a human as he fell out of the sky and collided painfully with the solid ground of flagged stone of all things. He cried out in pain and regretted it as it made his chest burn, the bite had broken most to all of his ribs and his hip was in agony as well. His left side was the worse though, his arm and shoulder were torn up where his wing had been and the arm itself was uselessly hanging, half-severed and bleeding mercilessly. He collapsed onto the ground, gasping against the pain and for a second his mind threatened to pass out but he stayed focused and noticed some kind of magically barrier being set up around him.

"Not so fast," Alaric insisted breathlessly but nonetheless sounding pleased, Pyrrhus spotted him from over the half-white wall that faded at about waist height. He was smirking while Pyrrhus' own expression twisted into a sneer to mask his rush of fear as he realized something, he was alone with a man and completely at his mercy. He didn't like being alone with men, it scared him.

"So you're a werewolf, huh?!" Pyrrhus spat, his chest pleading him not to but he ignored it, not wanting to show his fear, "Let me guess, Hogsmeade?"

There had been an attack on Hogsmeade two years ago, Fenrir Greyback leading an army of werewolves for the Shadow Master as part of a plan to take Hogwarts, a plan Pyrrhus had actually been involved in. Plenty of people had been turned but Alaric laughed again as if it was a stupid suggestion, shaking his head and retrieving the discarded crimson bathrobe to pull back on. Not before Pyrrhus noticed the scars though, an unmistakable werewolf bite on his right shoulder and some scars from mauling across his chest, marring his otherwise fit physique.

"Back in the Second Wizarding War, Voldemort used to sic Greyback on the children of people who didn't do what he wanted," Alaric explained, still somewhat breathless as he sat back down on the armchair he'd been in when Pyrrhus had first arrived. He placed his wand back down shakily and poured a glass of Firewhiskey, "I've been like this since I was five when my Father didn't do whatever had been asked of him."

"Fathers suck," Pyrrhus couldn't help but complain and Alaric inclined his head in agreement before sipping his glass.

"And I got off lucky, my sister died. I was delighted to hear Greyback was killed, when that Sanford kid graduates he can have his pick of job and be set for life."

"How'd your parents manage to keep it a secret?" Pyrrhus wondered with morbid curiosity.

"By pretending my sister had been the one and only victim, they hired a private healer to treat me and paid extra to keep his mouth shut. They kept me isolated, I was only allowed to interact with family and tutors whose silence they could ensure because they had this paranoid fear I would tell people for no reason. No Hogwarts, no Quidditch games, no shops, a trip out meant the garden and on the rare occasion there had to be guests over, I'd be silenced and locked up in the basement. It was their greatest fear that they might have to live with the shame of having a werewolf for a son, despite the Ministry reformation and it becoming more acceptable."

"Yet you still keep a secret."

"What can I say? Old habits die hard," Alaric shrugged as he finished his drink and put the empty glass back down, resting his head back sleepily, "It's pretty easy really, as long as you spend a good chunk of the month off that's not around the full moon, people don't get suspicious. People are stupid. Avoid pools, the beach and anywhere else where you might be expected to be shirtless, boil during the summer, only date muggles who wouldn't understand the significance of the scars and don't be openly pro-werewolf to avoid suspicion. I make my own Wolfsbane so I don't even need to alert to the Ministry to my condition."

"Well bully for you," Pyrrhus spat and started to cough, spluttering out blood much to his alarm. He really needed to get away or at least get medical attention, "Okay. You can… You can get me help now."

"Help?"

"I need healing!" Pyrrhus shrieked at him as the man's eyes flickered closed a moment, had he really not noticed?! Alaric smiled again, tiredly. How weak were werewolves after the full moon? Was he actually at risk of dying because the Minister fell asleep?

"I know, I'm just trying to think a good cover story to explain your injures and wondering whether it's worth the risk of the truth being discovered."

"You can't be serious!?" Pyrrhus spluttered out along with more droplets of blood, "You'd let me die to protect your secret?! My information is important! Werewolves aren't even hated as much!"

"_I'm_ _the_ _Minister_ _for_ _Magic_," Alaric emphasized each word slowly, his expression wiping to one of seriousness, "People hold you to higher standards and werewolves aren't so popular after Hogsmeade anyway. If my condition was discovered then there'd be outrage, I'd probably lose my job and some idiot or a Shadow would replace me."

"There'd also be support! Potter's lot would all be pro-werewolf."

"It's not the point," Alaric snapped with a look of disgust, "I don't want this whole thing to turn in a werewolf-support war, all everyone will care about is that I'm a werewolf. Which is just ridiculous in itself, a werewolf is _what_ I am not _who_ I am and it's stupid to judge people based on it. But then, people _are_ stupid. If I'm not fired then I'd have to step down so people will stay focused on fighting the Shadows not each other, if I stay then I risk inciting a civil war. I want to end a war not start one. So I suggest you tell me what you know so I can gauge if your life is worth it, as you put it: I'd seriously consider it if you want to live!"

"What? So you get the information and I still die?" Pyrrhus scoffed, still have no intention of telling him anything, "Go screw yourself! Help me or I tell you nothing and this stuff _is_ important."

"Is it really?" Alaric wondered, raising an eyebrow, "You claim to know the Shadow Master's identity. I'm guessing its Calderon's sibling, possibly even a twin named something Riddle. Not so groundbreaking now, is it?"

"Still wouldn't recognize them if they walked right up to you and punched you in the face, genius," Pyrrhus stated acidly as he decided he'd have to make his own escape, shifting his attention to the wand Alaric had left on the table and focusing.

"And the highest ranking Shadow Auror is either Cel Rooke or Ron Weasley, am I right?" Alaric asked curiously, not noticing his wand slowly and silently turning on the table to face him, " I figure that's the only or at least most likely way they have the control necessary to get pulling these things off, Potter trusts them completely which doesn't help."

"One of them is perfectly innocent though, good look figuring out who and getting Potter to believe you without my help."

Alaric opened his mouth but was silenced as the stunner shot from his wand, hitting him square in the chest and the werewolf finally slumped unconsciously into the chair. Pyrrhus' head lolled from the effort again as he coughed up blood, he dragged his mind back to focus as the wand floated into the air and removed the enchantment around him.

He struggled to get to his feet and collapsed once more, his – now certainly – broken hip unable to hold his weight. He bit his tongue so hard he drew blood against the incredible pain, why did life have to hurt so much? What had he ever done to life?! Why was life so mean to him?! It wasn't fair! He transformed back into a moth, quelling the blood flow at least and awkwardly – falling several times – flew out of the house and out of bounds of the anti-apparation wards. He then turned back and apparated, returning to the hotel room he'd left his son and staggering in before his legs gave way again.

"Daddy! Are you okayed?" Oathan's young, childish voice cried and he appeared a second later at his elbow.

Despite the agonizing pain, he smiled warmly at his son. Oathan had his mother's soft features but Pyrrhus' own violet eyes and crimson locks, except his hair was only neck length and had a slight wave to it like his mother's had, he also had bandages covering his palms and wrists to hide the blood quill scars the school had forced him to inflict upon himself. Just like those bastards had done to Pyrrhus, he didn't regret killing them. Except maybe his brother but that was just because he was his brother. Nothing could hide the scars on Oathan's face though, one horizontal just under his left eye and onto that side of his face and one vertical running through it at the edge of the eye so looked like a kind of cross. His mother had given him those scars, Alzay had been an abysmally poor mother. He gripped his son's frightened hand, feeling relief it would be alright.

"Close the door, bring me the first aid kit and summon Carver," Pyrrhus told him plainly, his ribs burning again from his speaking, "I'll be alright then, I promise. Tell Carver we'll get nowhere with the Minister, my plan is the only way."


	3. VI: Summer Birthdays

_**Thanks to:** green aura, Lucifersdaughter and Colin Creevey for reviewing!_

_**Author's Note:** For people wondering about Scorpius, I promise this is the last of the intro chapters before we get back to him. I also apologize if there was a mix up with the start date, I always meant it to be January 24th not 17th since it was the two year anniversary when I uploaded the first chapter of Gray_

**_Questions:_**

**_So that was what you were planning all this time for Flannery to grab the spotlight with huh? _**  
><em>Yep<em>

**_ Would he (Alaric) have? _**  
><em>Yes<em>

**_Which one would he (Alaric) arrest? Ron or Cel?_**  
><em>Neither until he has any proof <em>

* * *

><p>It was cold. Of course it was cold, it was always cold if you were Antonius Ashain. Despite the fact he was lying in a nice bed with thick, soft blankets to keep him warm. He had long since realized it was because he wasn't cold physically, it was his soul that was cold. What was left of it anyway, three years ago he'd had his magic ripped from it and while it had been put back, he hadn't been the same since. He'd died that day, the old Antonius, the one his mother called 'Tony' and yet somehow he was still... <em>around<em> to have his tenth birthday. It didn't mean he was alive because he wasn't, not really.

People wouldn't believe him if he told them of course, they'd tell him that he was wrong, that he was being ridiculous, that he was just too young to understand or know what he was saying, that it was just a phase he'd get out of. Those were the kind of things his mother – Skye - had told him. Before she left anyway. Of course she'd left, she wanted her dead son back not whatever he was now. And that was why when people asked, he didn't tell them. He didn't want them to leave him too. He lived for the people he loved, he couldn't live for himself since he was dead already so he would be nothing without them. So he told no one, no one but Hope anyway. Hope was special like that, mostly because she was a dog. As if on cue the monstrous lump of fur gave a bark and licked his face from the neck up to his eyeball with her large, cold and slobbery tongue. That was what he got for sitting up.

"Thanks for that," Antonius complained of his dog, she merely wagged her tail and watched him with her tongue lolling out.

She was a huge dog, he'd only just surpassed her at height and he considered himself pretty average for his age. He had no idea what breed she was, just a big, dark lump of fur with large paws attached to the long spindly trunks she had for legs. In truth she wasn't even his, he'd been leant her to help him with his damaged soul. With a sad pang he wondered if she'd ever be returned to her original owner considering he'd been arrested, they'd showed no signs of letting him go so far. Calderon may be Voldemort's son but Antonius didn't believe he was the Shadow Master, he'd met them both and was quite certain they were different. Besides, he'd also seen them fighting each other and he wasn't sure why but he knew the struggle had been real. Not that it mattered what he believed, it didn't even matter what his Father – who felt the same – believed and he was more important than Antonius was.

He reached out to stroke her soft fur, taking a sliver of comfort from it. Touch was the only thing that made him feel connected to the world again, made him feel on some level he existed. The feeling had weakened rather than strengthened with time though, over the past year in fact. He felt the lightning bolt scar on his chest twinge and gasped at the agony but it passed in a second as it always did, he took a deep breath and cuddled Hope tightly. A year ago the Shadow Master had tried to kill him, directly with the Killing Curse but he'd survived. For a different reason to the famous Harry Potter though. Antonius thought it just further proved that he was dead, it couldn't kill him because he wasn't really alive anymore. The scar still hurt sometimes, the scar on his soul not his body though. Not that he told anyone, he didn't want them to leave like his mother had. He was scared of being alone.

"Happy Birthday!" his sister, Cassia, squealed happily and he turned to see her bounding across his small room, bouncing onto his bed to pull him into a hug. Yep, he shouldn't have sat up.

He hugged her tightly back, he loved his little sister dearly. Since their mother had left, they lived solely with their father in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he taught Defense Against the Dark Arts. Their father homeschooled them so they didn't get to interact with kids their own age much or at all really, all they really had was each other. There were students they were friends with but they were busy with their classes and lives most of the time, Antonius hoped when he started Hogwarts next year that he could hang out with them more. They'd be gone by the time Cassia started though, she was only eight and their friends would be in Fifth and Sixth Year already come September.

"We've been waiting for you to wake up, you shouldn't sleep in on your own birthday," Cassia chided him as she pulled away, she had their father's dark chestnut eyes but their mother's straw-colored hair that didn't quite reach her shoulders. Or she had. Unlike him, she was furious at their mother for leaving and refused to have hair that looked like her so now their father charmed it different colors for her. Currently, she was favoring a forest green that made it look kind of like someone had deposited a small clump of seaweed on her head.

"Sorry," Antonius apologized blandly. In truth he'd woken ages ago, he simply didn't want to face his birthday. He didn't like being the center of attention, he liked it even less when he was expected to be happy and if he didn't act correctly then everyone would be upset that he wasn't. He missed the days when social interaction was simple.

"Anyway, I wanted to give you your present first," Cassia told him with a grin as she jumped up, making a sharp sound like a bird call and her pet vulture immediately flew in. It dropped a shoddily wrapped package of mismatched paper on his lap before landing on the arm she offered out to him. His sister was an Avisora, she could talk to birds like Parselmouths could talk to snakes, "Well go on, open it."

"And this couldn't wait until the rest of the presents with Dad because…?" Antonius wondered as he tried to tear it as non-destructively as possible.

"It's a wand holster, the kind the Aurors use," Cassia explained as he found it to be a leather strappy thing, Aurors were guarding the school now since it had been attacked a few months ago, "Since you don't want Daddy to know you have a wand already, I reckoned that you wouldn't want him to see."

His eyes couldn't help but drift to where he hid his wand down the side of his bed, safely out of sight. It was part of the Scepter of Night that the Shadow Master used, the one that had once belonged to the infamous Dark Wizard Herpo the Foul, after that it had belonged to their own ancestor who had helped defeat him. Most people believed it to have been destroyed but it had chosen him despite his young age and he'd left with it, kept it safe. Only a few of his friends and now Cassia knew about it, he'd had to use it in front of when Hogwarts had been attacked. He'd been teaching himself to use it too, there was a war going on and their father did teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Being homeschooled, they sat through all his lessons just doing their own work instead. They still picked things up though.

"Well thank you, it's pretty neat. Even if I can't use it."

"Yes you can," Cassia told him with a smug smirk, "You see, its charmed so when there's a wand in it, only the wand's owner can see it. You can take your wand with you anywhere now and not have to worry about people spotting it."

"Really?" Antonius wondered in surprise, retrieving his overly long wand and clambering out of bed to strap it on before slipping the wand in, "Does it work? Can you see it?"

"Nope," Cassia confirmed, looking impressed and he gave her a small smile. That _would_ be useful, "You'll have to tell Daddy at some point though since next year you'll need a wand."

"I know," Antonius sighed, he still wasn't sure what he was going to do then, "But not today. Thank you, Cassia, this is a really great present."

"I know it," Cassia added with a wide grin and something else occurred to him.

"Cassia, how did you get this if Dad doesn't know?"

"Err… Stole it."

"Cassia!"

"What?!" Cassia protested defensively, "Those Aurors guarding Hogwarts are a bag of dicks, they can always get more anyways and you need it more than them assholes."

"Well... Just don't do it again."

"Oh no, my other brother who needs to keep his secret wand secret is going to be so disappointed!" Cassia cried sarcastically as she jumped off the bed, the hulking vulture flying off and she tore after it laughing, "Now come on! Daddy, he's awake!"

"You've been in Hogwarts too long!" Antonius called after her before heaving another sigh and heading out, Hope leaping of the bed to stay loyally by his side.

He left his small room into the main living area of his father's quarters, also small but the couches were quite comfortable and there were several doors leading off to get to the other bedrooms. His father apparently wasn't there though, he continued on and found his family was settled in his father's office from where their living quarters could be accessed with a password. There was a modest pile of presents – much more neatly wrapped then Cassia's – on his father's desk and a small stack of letters beside them, no doubt cards and there was a handmade – judging by Cassia's clunky lettering – banner hanging up reading 'Happy 10th Birthday Antonius!' in bright colors that kept changing.

His father, Atticus Ashain, was sitting at his desk already fully dressed in wizarding robes unlike his children who were still in their pajamas. He was of average height with the dark chestnut eyes like Cassia's and Antonius' own, his hair was an extremely dark auburn that Antonius had inherited as well but lacked the neat beard that went with it. Half of his face – and body for that matter – was also a slightly lightly color, the only sign of the injury he'd sustained a few months ago saving Calderon and he had faint scar on that side too. He thought his father had taken Calderon's arrest pretty hard since they'd been friends, he was steadfast in his belief of the man's innocence to the point of arguing with other Aurors about it.

"Happy birthday, son," his father offered with a warm smile and opened his arms, "Already a decade old."

Antonius went over and was pulled into a tight hug, he clung to his father. He may not be as close to him as Cassia but he loved him nonetheless and looked up to him, he didn't know what he'd do without him. Every birthday since Skye had left, he'd blown out the candles wishing his dad wouldn't leave him too. His father pulled away, still smiling and clapped him on the shoulder. Cassia had curled up on a seat on the other side of the desk, stroking the vulture perched on top of the chair but there was a chair more central beside her that was clearly intended for him. He sat down, for a brief moment feeling a flood of panic that he still had his wand before realizing the charm must be working as his father didn't say anything or react to it at all. He relaxed and his father tossed the stack of letters to him before settling back, picking up his drink to sip. Antonius was pretty sure it was called 'whiskey.'

"Go on, cards first," his father prompted when Antonius had continued to stare thoughtfully off into space while Hope lay down at his feet, "You're popular this year."

Antonius thought this was quite correct as he started going through the pile, most of the old Hogwarts staff had gotten him cards, most of his friends had – although Albus had spelled his name wrong, ironically the Dyslexic Michael hadn't – and then his family. A handmade one from his father, sister and the animals. He was surprised to discover his mother had sent him one too, a design of brightly colored balloons on the front and the price on the back that she'd forgotten to remove. It hadn't even cost her a pound. There were only six words inside it: 'To Tony, Happy Birthday, love Mum' and the 'Happy Birthday' had been printed on the card. She hadn't even gotten his name right, it was aimed at her old, dead child. Sadly, he traced over the wavy blue letters of her handwriting, it was all he had of her. He missed her, so much.

"Skye," Cassia stated darkly as she read the card over his shoulder before her tone became more cheerful, "Do you want me to throw it in the fire for you?"

"Cassia!" his father chided her immediately but she didn't even look slightly abashed.

"What? Screw Skye, she can go fuck herself."

"Cassia!"

"What?" Cassia wondered again, not seeming to even understand why he had objected.

"You don't talk about your mother like that," his father said seriously.

"Skye is not my mother, I don't have a mother," Cassia decided, folding her arms quite determinedly.

"Yes, you do," his father insisted, downing the rest of his glass, "I was there when you came out of her kicking and screaming so I know."

"So I was born fighting," Cassia stated with a grin, seemingly quite proud of this fact, "Cool."

"How was I born?" Antonius asked curiously and his father blinked in surprise.

"I wasn't there when you were born," his father admitted and Antonius couldn't help but feel somewhat hurt, it must've showed on his face because his father elaborated, "We were in a car crash on the way to the hospital and I got knocked out, when I woke up I was in the hospital. The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was your mother sitting beside me, holding you in her arms."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Antonius said with a small smile that his father returned, nodding in agreement.

"Nah, I like the being born kicking and screaming better," Cassia pointed out proudly.

"Of course you do," his father laughed before peering over his shoulder to glance at the card as well, his expression was more serious as he leaned back in his seat once more and began to pour himself another drink, "At least her boyfriend didn't also sign it, stupid Karl from her work Karl. Okay, next card."

"Can we have some of that to drink?" Cassia asked as he sipped the alcohol, Antonius moved on to his next card which oddly looked like his mother's handwriting as well.

"Maybe in another decade."

"It's from Uncle Jasper," Antonius realized in surprise as he opened it, seeing it was from his mother's younger brother and his daughters. He hadn't seen his uncle in even longer than his mother, he'd divorced his aunt but had two daughters who were older than Antonius. His mother was closer to her brother then his father was to his since he was a Shadow and all, "Mum must've sent it for him, haven't heard from them in a while."

"We're not exactly easy for muggles to reach, I'm not sure how much he's been told of the magical world anyway."

"Uncle Jasper didn't send me a card for my birthday, I wonder wh- Oh never mind, I know," Cassia started to complain before seeming to realize, "He doesn't like me since I punched one of my cousins in the face with a brick."

"What?!" Antonius burst out in shock at the same time as his father, Cassia looked surprised.

"Don't you remember, Antonius? You were there," Cassia pointed out and Antonius shook his head, a side effect of having the magic torn from his soul was losing your memories and it took a while to recover them. Most of them anyway and they seemed less vivid then any memories after, almost like a dream, "It was after Skye found out about magic and sent Daddy away, Uncle Jasper was over with our cousins and they're bitches."

"Cassia," his father said warningly.

"What? They are," Cassia protested as if it were fact, "Skye told Uncle Jasper about magic but not them or their Aunt Jessica so they didn't know why, they were saying mean things that their stupid ass Mother was guessing what you did to make her mad and think you were sick. They were saying mean things like that you were cheater or a drinking problem and I was defending you, then Madison said you might have hurt us and I was so mad that I hit her. And she laughed and said that I was so little and weak, it didn't even hurt so... then a brick hit her in the face and she didn't think I was so little and weak anymore. She had to go to the hospital because it broke her jaw and Uncle Jasper and Aunt Jessica and Skye was all really mad at me, Skye sent me to my room which is just stupid because my toys are all there so I could play. And they didn't care that Madison had started it!"

"You don't need to break little girl's jaws to defend me, Cassia," his father told her gently and slightly worriedly.

"Madison wasn't little, she was nine! And it was a accident. Sort of. Antonius told the truth but Emma was a big fat liar and said Madison had done nothing, she said I just snapped like a psycho and Aunt Jessica believed her, said mean things about us and said we were the liars. And Skye agreed with her, Daddy! She told us we shouldn't tell lies and told Aunt Jessica she was sorry and we were sick. She was _always_ against us," Cassia continued angrily, sounding bitter and oddly disappointed as well, "Uncle Jasper was fairer, he just said it didn't matter and I'd still done a bad thing, he said if Madison had said mean things then she was wrong too but didn't deserve a broken jaw. Aunt Jessica didn't like us playing with our cousins after that, didn't even like Uncle Jasper still seeing us and Skye."

"Well thank you for filling us in, next card."

"But that's not even the worst of it," Cassia continued regardless and glanced at Antonius who continued to not remember, she seemed lost in the memory, "Skye was mad at you too, for lying and saying you weren't lying. You were so upset she didn't believe you when you were telling the truth, you tried so hard to be good for her, to be a good son and she was mad at you when you hadn't done anything wrong. You cried for hours in your room, I could hear you crying and crying and crying. All Skye does is hurt the people around her, she's like poison. Mothers shouldn't be like poison."

"Would you have believed us, Dad?" Antonius asked curiously, surprising his father yet again.

"I didn't raise you to be liars," his father said slowly as if carefully considering his words, "Don't give me a reason to doubt it and I won't, don't lie to me and I'll have your backs. You should always _try_ to be honest with people but times might come where you might have to lie but you should _always_ be honest with your family, most things are forgivable in time but trust needs to be rebuilt not forgiven which is much more difficult."

"Okay," Antonius nodded, feeling it was a fair answer.

He still exchanged a look with Cassia though, she clearly wondered the same thing about how fine a line there was between lying and just staying silent on certain things. He started opening his last card while his father downed another glass, immediately going to pour another. It was from someone else unexpected, his paternal grandfather Aurelius and his much younger wife, Dominique. He hadn't even met the man, his father had had some kind of falling out with him a long time ago.

"Aurelius," his father stated darkly as he read the card over his shoulder, not unlike his daughter had done not long before, "Do you want me to throw it in the fire for you?"

* * *

><p>Lorcan Scamander sat unhappily in the midst of a roomful of people, a roomful too many in his opinion but so was the way of birthday parties. It was for his friend, August Longbottom, the youngest of the Longbottom children who was turning fourteen. The blond birthday boy was sitting beside him and seemed as bored as he was, his arms were folded and his eyes focused unwaveringly on Lily Potter who sat chatting happily with her boyfriend, the albino boy Orous Knox from the year above her..<p>

For once the party was surprisingly lacking in the number of Potter-Weasley clan, Victoire and her husband Teddy – although his grandmother, Andromeda was there – were working thus absent, Dom and her much older husband Aurelius had left early after an argument with her father, the orphaned Molly was staying with Scorpius and her younger sister Lucy was away with friends as well and had been since her muggle – she was a squib – boarding school had finished for the year, James was missing – or as Lorcan knew, had joined the Shadows – and Rose was in France with her boyfriend for the last few weeks of summer. Charlie, Percy and his wife were dead now so not there, all killed by Shadows, Bill had also been widowed – also by the Shadows, they were shrinking the family - and George divorced from Angelina so she hadn't come, Bill had also left after the argument and Harry was also working.

Of those there, the elder Molly doting on her first great-granddaughter Charla and talking with George and Caitlin Birch, Charla's mother and girlfriend of Freddie who was George's son and the father. Freddie worked in his father's joke shop and Caitlin also had a job in Diagon Alley, they lived in an apartment there with the year old infant who'd been born their last year of Hogwarts. Freddie was happily chatting away with Louis, Bill's youngest and an Auror trainee who he had always been close to. Arthur was talking to Cade Knox, Orous' stepfather and a muggle, who was probably being inundated with boring questions. Lorcan did not share the old man's enthusiasm for muggle culture. Orous' deaf twin, Maurice Rivers was there as well and engaged in conversation with Hermione. Lorcan would've liked to talk to him but not with Hermione there, he'd been waiting for her to leave him most of the party but apparently intelligent overachievers got along well.

Her husband's conversation seemed much less pleasant, he had been talking in a low tone with Cel Rooke most of the night. Cel being Harry's protégé and about as high-ranking as Ron, Lorcan had tried to spy on them but they were observant and changed the subject whenever he got close. They seemed to be complaining though, annoyed at Harry for not trusting them. Lorcan wasn't surprised, he still hadn't forgiven the man for not believing him on Varanian's innocence. Varanian being the leader of his vigilante group Gray – that Lorcan incredibly proud to consider himself a part of – fighting the Shadows, he'd saved Lorcan before and was a hero in his eyes. Cel was married to Gabrielle, Fleur's sister, who was talking to Roxy about her career as Healer, it was quite random considering Roxy would be in her final year of Hogwarts and had not taken NEWTs for being a Healer. Since Gabrielle was doing that, he'd lost track of her and Cel's almost two year old son, Vale, just like he'd lost track of Albus and Hugo. The latter had gone to the bathroom a while ago and not reappeared yet, the former had been glaring furiously at August's older sister, Abby.

The Longbottom's had had four children: Heather, Nick, Abby and August. The Longbottom parents were in the kitchen with Ginny but Nick had been killed by Pyrrhus Florian a few years ago and Heather had claimed to be too busy with her work to be there for her brother's birthday. Or her father's last month for that matter. It was almost like she'd stopped caring since going to the Bahamas for whatever her job was, Lorcan thought winning the Triwizard Tournament had gone to her head. Abby was in the same year as Albus and he'd last seen her off in a far off corner snogging her boyfriend, Sequoia Pentakel. His younger sisters had also been invited, the elder of whom was talking to Lorcan's own twin, Lysander. Unlike Orous and Maurice, they were identical twins but far from it in personality. They'd been closer once, it felt like so long ago now…

"August!" Albus' voice snapped abruptly and Lorcan was pulled from his boredom by the approach of the younger Potter boy.

"What?" August complained tiredly as he glanced at the teen, Albus was quite all and look a lot like his father except younger, he didn't wear glasses and didn't have any grays hairs.

"Your sister went off with her boyfriend, go tell her she's being a lousy sister and to come back to the party to be with _you_ not _him_."

"What did you do?" Lorcan questioned half-knowingly and half-disinterestedly, idly thumbing the handle of the wand that rarely left his hand.

"Nothing," Albus scoffed as he folded his arms, Lorcan raised an eyebrow, "Well, I just snapped at them to get a room. So they did. Don't they know it's an expression that means stop snogging? August it's your brotherly duty to keep them apart."

"Aren't you neglecting your brotherly duty by not keeping Lily away from her boyfriend?"

"No. I mean they're not kissing or anything, they're just sitting there talking," Albus stated defensively and spared them a glance, as did August who went back to staring at her, Lily was laughing at something he'd said and Orous gave a very strained smile, "Besides, after everything last year I don't want to hassle him right now unless I really have to. Kid's been through enough."

"Damn straight," Lorcan muttered, Orous had been in a coma for a few weeks after killing his evil Shadow mother. His soul was damaged from having the magic ripped out then put back, killing tore it even worse. Lorcan didn't know all the details but he knew enough to pity the older boy, as if it wasn't bad enough they'd put through a similar ordeal to Lorcan himself. Thinking of the twins also made him think of Maurice, he hadn't has his soul harmed but he'd lost his girlfriend when Hogwarts was attacked, "How's Maurice doing?"

"Talking to Aunt Hermione," Albus pointed out as if it were obvious, Lorcan rolled his eyes, "Oh you mean in general?"

"Of course I mean in general, I have eyes!"

"Well according to Vern who heard from Orous, he's pretty upset," Albus explained, Vern Dursley was his cousin who was also a wizard in Hufflepuff – same as Orous – in the year below him. He lived with them and shared a room with Albus, the Potters had taken him in after his parents had been killed. By the Shadows. So many people killed by the Shadows and yet Varanian was the only one doing anything to stop them. Vern was chatting with his girlfriend as well and the younger brother she brought with them, both Slytherins and from the Nott family, "He spends most of his time looking at pictures of Lenore, Orous has heard him crying at night. Orous isn't really talking to Maurice though so that's all he really knows."

"Why aren't they talking?"

"I don't know," Albus shrugged and prodded August, drawing his attention back, "So will you come with him to bring Abby back down?"

"No," August insisted irritably, "You may be jealous of my sister but I'm not."

"I'm not jealous!"

"You're not jealous she got to invite her boyfriend and you didn't get to invite your girlfriend?"

"I _did _get to invite my girlfriend She's just busy, her Dad's having her train a lot and show off her skills to talent scouts to get on a team when she graduates this year," Albus protested while pouting childishly, his girlfriend was Grozda Krum the daughter of the famous Bulgarian Seeker who now taught Flying in Hogwarts. How the mighty had fallen. Albus seemed to cheer up a bit at this though, "I've been meaning to ask Mum about putting in a good word for with the Harpies. Wow. Can you imagine? _My_ girlfriend playing on _my_ favorite team, which is only the best in all of Quidditch. The future Mrs Potter is just _amazing_."

"Well go fantasize somewhere else and quit bugging us," Lorcan complained, the last thing he wanted was to listen to Albus drooling over girls.

"Yeah, if you can be happy with a girlfriend then why can't Abby be happy with her boyfriend?" August added, "You know, the one who could actually make time for her and be bothered to show up."

"You wouldn't be saying that if he wasn't in your house," Albus snapped irritably as he stalked off, "Don't come crying to me when your sister's in tears! Damn Longbottoms."

"Yes, the first thought when I see my sister cry is that I must find Albus Potter," August muttered sarcastically under his breath after Albus left, reverting back to staring at Lily.

"When did you get so cynical?" Lorcan wondered curiously, his friend had seemed increasingly bitter of late.

"Probably from spending too much time with you."

"Hey guys, what did I miss?" Hugo offered cheerfully as he sat down beside them, his bushy red hair and faceful of freckles familiar.

However, he had the added addition of the blond haired Valerian "Vale" Rooke in his arms. He was a strange baby, he rarely cried and barely did anything except stare off into space, he didn't like eating – as a result, he was underweight – or smiling either in contrast to the bubbly Charla Weasley. The adults though there was something wrong with him, that he might be mentally retarded or something,

"Why do you have Vale?"

"I thought Gabrielle could use a break from him and she agreed," Hugo shrugged, giving the baby a gentle smile, "Isn't that right, Vale, huh? Did you want to hang out with your big, cool cousins?"

Vale did nothing.

"You know, maybe if you weren't so nice to people then you would've landed in Gryffindor like the rest of your family not be stuck in Hufflepuff," Lorcan pointed out and Hugo lost his smile, he didn't have anything the house but Hugo had desperately wanted to be in the house of his family.

"What do you or any of us know about making Gryffindor?" August wondered, "I'm a Ravenclaw and you're a Slytherin, we failed too."

"I didn't care where I went. Except not Gryffindor, not Harry's house , not after he _refused_ to believe me about Varanian. When the hat told me I was brave, I told it that I would tear it off my head and light it on fire if it dared put me in Gryffindor house."

"Err… Harsh much?" Hugo muttered with a concerned expression, Lorcan shrugged. He'd been angry, he felt so angry sometimes, "I didn't even get a chance to talk to the hat, second it touched my head it screamed Hufflepuff. And now I'm a disappointment to my family."

"We're all disappointments to our families," August pointed out bitterly, "Even Vale."

"Seriously, what is your problem?" Lorcan wondered and August shrugged aimlessly, "It's your party and you're all grumpy."

"It's not my party, it's my parents'. I guess they think just because I didn't die that I couldn't have a quiet birthday, they also must have figured I'm five because of all these streamers, balloons and bloody party hats. Most of the people here are their friends or relatives of their friends or their friends' friends or relatives of their friends' friends, I've never even met some of these people. If you're throwing a party for someone then you should invite that persons friends not your own."

"Dude, you don't have any friends except us," Hugo offered and Lorcan couldn't help but laugh at the truth of it along with Hugo, August scowled at them.

"It's true," Lorcan insisted, "We're not exactly popular, since when did you care about that anyway?"

"I don't!" August protested and sighed as he turned away.

"Then what is it?"

"I don't know! I'm just grumpy and I don't know why!" August snapped testily and the conversation fell silent for a minute, he went back to staring at Lily.

"Did you tell her?" Hugo asked of August randomly, confusing Lorcan while August looked back to the redhead.

"Tell who what?"

"Lily. Did you tell her that you took the spell for her while she was unconscious and that was why you nearly died?"

"No," August admitted and turned back to Lily solemnly, "What's the point? I did it to protect her not so she'd be grateful."

"You like her, don't you?" Lorcan realized and August's cheeks went pink, "You _do_ like her!"

"And so what if I do?" August scoffed as he glanced at him, dropping his voice, "What difference does it make? She's with Orous and he's a good person, she's happy with him and he's happy with her. Even _if_ I like her, it doesn't matter. If I liked her then I'd want her to be happy more then I'd want her to be with me."

"You're a good person, Aug, an unfortunate but good person," Hugo offered gently and August shrugged disinterestedly, his eyes drifting back to Lily.

"Why don't you just like someone else?" Lorcan wondered and both boys looked at him as if he'd grown an extra head.

"I don't think it works that way, Lorc."

"It's not that easy," August agreed and Lorcan rolled his eyes, "Don't you know anything about dating?"

"Clearly not. What would I want with dating?" Lorcan scoffed as he folded his arms crossly.

"Now you sound like Maurice."

"I don't hate the concept, okay? I have no problem with people dating," Lorcan insisted truthfully, "It just doesn't appeal to _me_ personally. I don't care how pretty she is, touch sounds like torture. Maybe someday but today is not the day."

"Maybe you'd like it if you tried it, maybe you'd get over your fear of touch faster to be romantic with a girl. Seems to help Orous and Scorpius."

"Well I'm not Orous and Scorpius, okay?!" Lorcan snapped.

He found himself suddenly feeling very smothered in the crowded room, he stormed off to get some air outside and to try calm down before he accidentally caused something to burn or blow up or other destructive things that happened when he got upset. He stopped when the sounds of voices died down, putting his against one of the outer walls and leaning against it. He hated being like this but being kidnapped and molested had that effect on people, or at least on him. Scorpius and Orous – who had suffered similarly - _did_ seem to manage better then him, maybe he was just weak? His family – especially his father and brother – thought he should be 'better' by now and hated who he was, especially after he'd accidentally burned his father's hands when he tried to hug him. And Lysander didn't even remember him protecting him during their abduction, if he hadn't then Lorcan could be the 'sane' one. It hurt to hear his twin calling him a coward after that, just because he was Slytherin. He kicked the wall in frustration.

"Hey, I'm sorry, okay?" August offered and Lorcan turned back to see he and Hugo – still holding Vale – had followed him out, "I didn't mean to upset you."

"Its fine," Lorcan brushed it off and hastily wiped his eyes before tears could form, he took a deep breath as he folded his arms. Glancing at his friends, Hugo was just a bit tall for his age while August was still short and Lorcan about average, Vale just stared with sad eyes. Seriously, what was wrong with the kid? "Not like you two can understand anyway but take it from me, when you've been stuck with some pervert who couldn't keep his hands off you… You are _not _eager to be touched by anyone anymore, Scorpius and Orous may have girlfriends but I'd bet my life they take things slow. Healing is a slow process that varies from person to person, that's what Leebin says and he knew his shit."

"Okay," the two nodded before they were distracted by a girl giggling not too far away.

The trio spun and Lorcan spotted his twin not too far away, same dirty blond hair except neater and amber eyes without the bags. He was walking with one of the Pentakel girls, the youngest Terra who was in the year below them. She had the same brown hair and blue eyes like her siblings, she was pretty actually and wearing a lilac dress with a flower on the side. Lysander was smiling widely before leaning in, Terra looked uncertain as if she'd never been kissed before Lysander pressed his lips against hers. Lorcan started to turn away in disgust, Terra suddenly didn't look pretty anymore but he stopped when he noticed a moth flying towards his brother. Lorcan felt a jab of terror, Pyrrhus Florian could turn into a moth… Lysander was oblivious had his back to it, his eyes closed and had encircled his arms around Terra who was facing the moth but had had eyes closed stupidly as well.

"Lys!" Lorcan called desperately, brandishing his wand and rushing towards his brother.

"What are you doing?!" Hugo or August yelled as they both seemed to follow him. Lysander and Terra immediately pulled apart, Terra blushing furious and Lysander turning on him angrily.

"Honestly, Lorcan, just because-" Lysander started to say while the moth transformed back into Florian behind him, Terra screamed and he screamed when he turned .

"_Avada_-" Florian started to say when Lorcan was still too far for a spell, to Lorcan's horror his wand was aimed at his twin. His heart stopped beating, he couldn't watch his twin die. He couldn't, "-_Kedav_-"

"NO!" Lorcan screamed and his wrist burned, Florian was thrown violently backwards into a tree. For once uncontrolled magic playing in his favor, he reached the couple and turned to them, "Run!"

Lysander didn't waste a second of time, grabbing Terra's hand and did his genius run back to the house? Which was full of adults – including several trained Aurors – who were perfectly capable of dueling and Maurice, who was like an unstoppable force of death with in a duel. No. He ran like a fool into the forest.

"I'll get help!" Hugo offered, hugging Vale as close to his chest as possible so he could shield him his body as he raced back. He couldn't do much holding a baby anyway.

"_Protego!_" August cried as Florian fired a spell after Hugo to stop him.

The spell deflected back and crashed into a tree, which burst immediately into flames. Florian had fired a second spell immediately after as he stood, it struck August almost as soon as the spell left his lips. His friend was thrown back against a tree while his wand flew from his grip, he cried out in pain as a branch ripped through his stomach. Hugo froze at the sound.

"_Stupefy!"_ Lorcan blurted out, wishing desperately he knew non-verbal magic.

Florian held up his free hand to Lorcan's spell while flicking his wand at August, a shimmering shield appeared before his palm to deflect Lorcan's spell while the branches around August morphed into chains to bind the boy there. Lorcan started to repeat his spell but Florian spun around, waving his hand and wand. The fire from the tree spread in the direction he motioned, creating a wall of livid shades of red and orange to trap them in the forest. But worst of all was that August was in its path, still helplessly chained to the tree.

To Lorcan's soul-chilling terror, the flames ripped through his friend and August screamed in agony as the fire started to consume him. Lorcan could feel the intense heat, smell something so horrible he wanted to vomit. He ran to help August just as Hugo did but Florian bolted in the direction Lysander had gone, flicking his wand again to complete the circle of fire around them. Vale started crying then, Hugo discarded him to help August.

"GO!" Hugo yelled at him, gesturing in the direction Florian had gone after his twin, "I've got him, go!"

Lorcan wrenched himself away, feeling guilty for leaving his friends as he threw himself through the flames with August's screams still clawing through his ears as he ran. He ran so fast his trainers skidding on the sloping ground, he heard a scream just before reaching the bottom and saw Florian had struck his brother with a spell that had conjured bounds around his ankles to prevent him from fleeing. Terra bravely turned to face him, withdrawing her wand to protect herself and Lysander.

Lorcan and Terra both started to cast different spells while Lysander cowered in terror, however before they could do anything, Florian lunged and a jet of green whizzed by where his ear had been. Lorcan had learned his lesson about firing Killing Curses near friends though, he turned and saw figures stepping out of the shadows around them. They were all dressed in black cloaks, a blue skeletal snake emblazed on their chests coiled in a random shape with its head central and forked tongue sticking out. The Shadow Mark, they were Shadows.

They all started firing at once, not at the kids but at Florian. Despite his hatred for the man, Lorcan had to admit that Florian was an impressive duelist and it reminded him of Maurice. He was blur, ducking and dodging and waving his way through the curses while slamming up shields with both hand and wand. Lorcan couldn't help but notice that his left shoulder seemed injured somehow, its movements weren't as fluid and he cringed if moving it a certain way or speed. Lorcan was completely unsure of what to do, Florian was evil and had just lit his friend on fire so should he be helping the Shadows? But then, the Shadows were evil and had done numerous bad things as well so should he be helping Florian? Which side should he be fighting for? Terra was trying to get to Lysander, who was still unable to move but couldn't lest she be caught in the crossfire as she and Lorcan were more on the outskirts of the fight.

Florian seemed to decide to call it a loss and disapparated with a crack, almost all of the Shadows following suit. All but one who fired a final spell, at Lysander. It was so unexpected after Florian had been the target that Lorcan didn't react in time and the white jet struck his brother. The Shadow vanished as Lysander clutched his face and started screaming, Lorcan and Terra both ran to him, falling to their knees in the dirt beside him.

"What's wrong?!" Lorcan blurted out in panic and Lysander stopped screaming, he lowered his hands shakily to show tear-filled eyes, "Lysander! What's wrong?! Are you alright?! What did they do to you?!"

"I-I remember, Lorc," Lysander stammered out quietly as tears spilled from his eyes, his face twisting into an expression of extreme guilt, "I remember the abduction, I remember _everything_. I remember… And I've been so horrible and y-you were s-so good to me, protecting me, I'm so sorry."


	4. VI: News

_**Thanks to:** RandomGerman, Colin Creevey, Jizzle04 and green aura for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_Why would the shadows give him his memories back?_**  
><em>Too much of a spoiler to say I'm afraid<em>

**_What spell did the shadow fire at the end?_**  
><em>It gave Lysander his memories of abduction and imprisonment back<em>

**_Florian appeared there... which was his goal?_**  
><em>To kill the kids with scarred wrists, specifically the Scamanders here<em>

* * *

><p>Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy had been having a great summer, his parents had been true to their word about letting him have a friend stay with him. He'd intended for his best friend, Michael Sanford, to stay with him for a while but an offhand comment from his girlfriend on the platform had resulted in his parents offering for her to stay instead. He was quite sure his father had done it on purpose, Michael had been turned into a werewolf at the end of their Third Year and only his mother seemed completely comfortable with having a werewolf over. He'd managed to convince his father to agree to Michael for Christmas though, on the condition his OWL results had been good. Scorpius didn't consider himself the smartest person in the world but in his experience, doing the work and paying attention in class tended to be enough so he was quite confident he'd pass at the very least.<p>

Not that he was complaining about having gotten to spend time with his girlfriend – especially since she'd just finished her Seventh Year so short of failing all her NEWTs, she wouldn't be returning this year with him – but he just worried about Michael, his friend struggled with his condition and had even taken up drinking until Scorpius had been suspended taking the fall for him. It didn't help Michael was Dyslexic, making it hard to communicate though letters since Michael struggled to write and Scorpius struggled to read his words. Apart from that, he'd been enjoying his summer though.

His girlfriend was of course, Molly Mavis Weasley, he'd had a crush on her since his First Year and had been dating her since his Third. He loved her. He'd stayed several times with her family at the Weasley Burrow so he was very happy for her to spend time with him at the Malfoy Manor now, it wasn't she like a home to go to now anyway. Her mother had been killed in his First Year and her father just last Christmas, both of them had died at the Shadows hands or Soul Eaters as they called themselves. She had extended family – she was a _Weasley_ - but considering she was of age now she didn't intend to stay with them but rather with Gray.

The world was at a state of war with the Shadows, muggles and wizardkind alike as they seemed to want to rule the whole world not just one part. So far they'd already claimed Greece and Turkey in its entirety, a feat not even Voldemort had accomplished. The Shadows were led by the Shadow Master whose identity and appearance remained unknown, they did however know he was Voldemort's son and Marius Calderon's brother. Calderon had been an assistant at Hogwarts, helping out in every way possible and had fought to protect the school at every opportunity from the Shadows. He was also Scorpius' cousin, Calderon had – and disturbingly, probably the Shadow Master too - been Bellatrix Lestrange's son, Scorpius' grandmother's sister, and Scorpius had looked up to him, considered him a friend. Until the truth had been revealed, someone had tipped off the Aurors and they'd arrested him.

The Shadow Master had undoubtedly orchestrated it, he'd attacked Hogwarts a few months ago and while Gray had had a hand in tricking the army into retreating, Scorpius didn't think it would have mattered if Calderon hadn't engaged his brother. Both Riddles wielded incredible wandless magic, whatever walls most people had being broken due to being raised in Azkaban followed by being 'taught' with torture. The Shadow Master also had a weapon that had belonged to his ancestor the infamous Herpo the Foul, it was called the Scepter of Night, named because when in use it brought darkness. It was powerful in its own right – from what Scorpius had gathered, it comprised of what would be considered two wands by today's standards – but also let the user safely channel more magic then they would usually have, the Shadow Master already being used to channeling more than usual and being able to rip the magic from others' souls made for a devastating combination as the fallen countries proved. And that was even with the armies, people and Specters, the Shadows of Dementors capable of destroying souls, spying almost invisibly and possessing people depending on the color of their soul.

Shadows riddled the Ministry, including plenty of Aurors making it difficult for them to fight back. And that was where Gray came in, former Headmaster Pip Varanian had been framed by the Shadows for trying to take over Hogwarts since being a metamorphmagus made it easy for them to hide the fact he'd been possessed the whole time. Calderon, Scorpius and his grandfather – who'd had his soul destroyed in the process – had thwarted the plan but Varanian couldn't prove his innocence, he'd escaped his arrest after Shadow Aurors tried to kill him and had started fighting them instead. He'd made an alliance with Scorpius due to the fact he'd been in danger at time, they'd been fighting them ever since with other people slowly trickling in to join them. They were still a small group but a group nonetheless, Varanian had finally christened them Gray in the midst of the attack on Hogwarts.

Scorpius spent a lot of free time at Varanian's hideout instead of at home, Varanian having given him a Portkey that could take him there. For the first time in a long time, he'd been balancing his time much better between home and Varanian due to Molly's presence. Her being there made it easier to get away, Molly was of age and perfectly capable of apparating so they could claim to be going somewhere. Molly was actively helping while the most Scorpius could do was train, he was still bound by the Trace and his August birthday didn't help. He could use magic at the hideout though, Varanian had set up enchantments to avoid the Trace. Thus he could practice mostly dueling, Occlumency and continue his animagus training. Wyatt Grant, another member of Gray, was an animagus and had been helping him, Aurelius Ashain – also an animagus - also had sometimes recently if Wyatt was busy.

Since Michael was a werewolf, only animagi could safely be around him during his transformations and Scorpius was determined to become one to support his friend. He thought it might help, Michael had a habit of attacking himself during transformations. He had been training since he was fourteen. According to both animagi, he was getting close though as the transfigurations were becoming more severe. And painful. He wasn't going to give up though, he'd get it. He knew he would.

But aside from all that, he also was spending more time at home with Molly. She'd been given her own room that was about as far as his could be, he thought this was quite unnecessary and he could only hope the ensuite bathroom made up for the extra corridors she had to walk to get down to breakfast. He'd shown her the manor and the grounds where his grandfather's white peacocks used to roam, the gardens, the skies – Molly was an avid Quidditch player and had been their Captain since her Fourth Year – and the village nearby. Scorpius had almost forgotten what it was like to just be home, he spent so much time trying to get away after all. This also meant more time with his family too.

There was his grandmother, the widowed Narcissa who had asked if Molly was pureblood – which she was, the last pureblooded Weasley due to her sister's squib status and her cousins all being half-bloods to some degree – then seemed satisfied and went back to hanging out alone. She seemed to have come to peace with her paranoia about the Shadow Master being Voldemort's son, for one mild moment he'd considered she might've known about her sister's children but he figured she'd have said something surely when the whole thing first came to light. He supposed she was just stressed, the war took its toll. His father, Draco, was being his usual respectable and distant self although he did make an effort to converse with Molly at least. Still, it was his mother, Astoria, who did the most talking. She was easily the most sociable Malfoy and the former Ravenclaw seemed to get on well enough with Molly, Scorpius took this to be a good sign. Especially considering his parents had encouraged him she'd break up with him when she graduated, they were going to try making it work long distance though. Then of course there was his baby brother, Sol, who was only twenty months old and was enjoying his new found ability to walk. Enjoying life in general really, he was just happy and bubbly, always smiling and laughing which always seemed to lighten the mood. He also had taken a liking to Molly, even recognizing and attempting her name.

She'd been there for his sixteenth birthday at the beginning of August where she'd gotten him another leather jacket which was his favorite item of clothing, he'd been surprised and excited to find his chocolate cake had icing Thestrals gliding over it to spell out 'Happy Birthday Scorpius.' It had ben Molly's idea apparently, she knew he was fond of the strange creatures most found disturbing if they could see them at all. They'd gone to a Quidditch match to celebrate, naturally in a sky box. Since becoming Seeker, Scorpius had found he enjoyed playing much more than he liked watching and hadn't even followed the teams since his abduction. Nonetheless he didn't regret it, Sol got to go to his first Quidditch match – he was quite excited by the action despite not being old enough to comprehend it – and it broke the ice very much with his father and girlfriend. His father did still enjoy Quidditch and it was a subject Molly was very passionate about, she became very animated when talking about it and they got into an intense discussion about it. It left Scorpius to chat about the weather with his grandmother and help his mother point out things happening to Sol.

The only particularly bad thing that happened – unless you counted the news of the Shadows taking Turkey which was bad but didn't happen to Scorpius personally – was being triggered by Molly during a snogging session, memories of his abuse at muggle hands invading his mind and scaring him off. It was particularly upsetting that it hadn't happened in a while and he was beginning to think he was alright, it forcibly reminded him that as much progress as he felt he made, he was still marked by his painful past. Molly had been good about it, of course she had but he didn't ease the unbearable shame he felt and he was sure it bothered her too even if she didn't say anything. After all, who could be happy with a boyfriend who could freak out if you touched him? Kissing wasn't supposed to be a difficult experience. He noticed her being more cautious after as well, he wondered if Orous had ever had that.

Despite being pleased with his summer, he also got the impression that Molly felt similar to he did when he stayed in the Burrow, that it wasn't bad but it was also a very different way of doing things like Malfoys would never dream of coming down to breakfast in pajamas like Weasleys did. It made him nervous, he was serious about his relationship with Molly and could very much see them married someday – in the far, far future – where they would live together, probably even in the Malfoy Manor. Could it ever work with the differences in their families and lifestyles? He wasn't sure and thankfully, not even he was paranoid enough to worry that far ahead, there were plenty more obstacles before that to worry over he was sure. For starters, there was no future for anyone while the Shadows were still there. He was also starting to get worried about his OWLs, they still hadn't arrived with two weeks until September.

_He was in a house he remembered well, a muggle dwelling but he didn't spare it much of a glance. He already knew where he was going. A man with a flash of emerald for eyes rushed out of one of the doors, gun aimed at him. Scorpius just held up his hand though, there was a bang as the gun was fired but the bullet shot straight back through the man who'd fired it and sent him flying back into his own grave. He kept walking, starting his ascent of the stairs and a stocky man with a sadistic expression stepped out. Scorpius raised his wand – which for some reason was dripping in blood – and ended the man with a blinding flash of green, his body toppled out of sight and he wasn't given another second of thought. _

_He continued his ascent and reached the attic door, guarded by a frail, aging man with white hair. He raised his wand, there was a snap and the man screamed as his leg twisted violently into another direction. He flicked his wand again and again, again and again. Each time a sickening snap and a body part jerking the wrong way, finally the man just collapsed in a broken, sobbing lump. Scorpius stepped over him to get into the attic, the man dying before his hand touched the door. He pushed it open, revealing a small boy handcuffed to a bed that Scorpius immediately made his way towards. The boy was only wearing a white t-shirt and underwear, his legs were bruised and bloody, his arms not much better. His extremely dark auburn hair was matted and filthy, tears were streaming from the dark chestnut eyes. Scorpius raised his wand, the handcuffs snapped._

_"Why?" the boy sobbed as he rubbed his wrist, Scorpius tilted his head curiously, "Why didn't you protect me?"_

Scorpius woke with a start, his body lurching upright as he gulped down breaths. It was the third time he'd had that dream, it was starting to really disturb him. He ran his left hand through the head of sweaty white-blond hair that had plastered itself to his forehead, sighing as he moved it back down to look at the scar on his wrist, pushing away Michael's friendship bracelet to look better. One continuous line wrapped around it, two more either side that were more disjointed. A link binding himself to the Shadow Master along with the four other boys - Orous Knox, Maurice Rivers, Lorcan and Lysander Scamander - bearing the same scar, Calderon had sealed it somewhat but couldn't erase it.

He moved his fingers over to the palm, scarred by a symbol that was also an arrow, the rune Tiwaz that he'd been given in his First Year when activating the Blood Runes. There was a fainter diagonal line going through it, a result of his palm being cut when the Shadow Master had been revived in his Second Year. To think, he could've ended the war before it began if he'd just had the guts to kill, he shoved aside that guilt. That was also his ring hand, he had the Portkey ring that looked like a wedding band and above it was the silver Thestral ring that Calderon had given to him which he kept – much like the friendship bracelet – for sentimental value not for any practical use. His other hand was worse off, that and the wrist was a blotchy mess of pale skin that raised and grooved in random places, a result of a burn he'd received pulling Varanian out of the fire in his Fourth Year. Thinking of Varanian's poor, horrifically charred body, he considered he'd actually gotten off quite lucky. The war was not as easy to walk away from as his parents believed.

Seeing it was light, he decided to just go ahead and get up. He washed and dressed before leaving, catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror as he did so. He was taller now with a slender frame, his father with only a few inches on him and like his father, he did have similar pale, pointed features but his face was more youthful. His hairline was not receding like his father but letting a fringe flop over his forehead with a parting to the off-center side, Scorpius hadn't needed to start shaving yet though. He had the same dull gray eyes as his father as well but unlike him, had a small scar on his chin inflicted by Michael after turning into a werewolf during his Third Year. _Hmm… Maybe my parents do have a point about me coming back every year with more scars_, Scorpius mused to himself as he headed down to breakfast.

To his surprise, an official looking owl was sitting on the table and it leaned over to place its message down on the table in front of it in a very careful way, as if the contents were delicate. His name was on the envelope and Scorpius had a pretty good idea of who it was from, he knew a Hogwarts letter when he saw one. He picked it up and noticed it felt a bit heavier than usual, likely from the added results. He let out a relieved breath that they'd arrived at least, he expected the results had been ready awhile but the Headmaster resigning and having to make staff changes might have delayed them with the usual book list part. He braced himself, hoping he'd get good enough marks for Michael before he tore into the letter to read:

**_Ordinary Wizarding Level Results_**

**_Pass Grades _**

_Outstanding (O) _

_Exceeds Expectations (E) _

_Acceptable (A) _

**_Fail Grades_**

_Poor (P)_

_Dreadful (D)_

_Troll (T)_

**_Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy has achieved:_**

_Astronomy: E_

_Care of Magical Creatures: O_

_Charms: O_

_Defense Against the Dark Arts: O_

_Divination: E_

_Herbology: O_

_History of Magic: A_

_Potions: E_

_Study of Ancient Runes: E_

_Transfiguration: O_

Scorpius scanned them and rescanned them, then scanned them a third time to make sure he was reading them correctly. He thought they were good enough for his parents, his lowest grade was the Acceptable for History of Magic but he thought his parents should be pleased with that considering how boring the subject was. He was slightly disappointed by his grade in Study of Ancient Runes, he did greatly enjoy the subject but his suspension had taken its toll and the teacher being off injured from the Hogwarts attack had made it harder to catch up as well. Unlike pretty much all his friends – and pretty much everyone in his year he thought – he hadn't gotten a career in mind so he wasn't looking for any specific grades, he was just going to take the subjects he liked and try get a good amount of grades to fall back on.

"Those your OWL results?" a very familiar voice questioned and Scorpius spun to see his girlfriend entering the room, she was beautiful with sky blue eyes and crimson curls that framed a flawless face.

"Yeah," Scorpius admitted and showed her the page, she glanced at it and grinned.

"Well done, Scor, they're really great," Molly congratulated him and pecked him on the lips, "I reckon you have your Mother's brains."

"Thanks. I'm surprised your NEWTs aren't here," Scorpius told her, glancing around as if an owl would be hiding somewhere but Molly waved a piece of paper in front of his face.

"They did come, I just beat you to it."

"How'd you do?"

"Four Outstandings and three Exceeds Expectations," Molly told him a shrug, "Could've been better but not bad."

"Well I'm sure they're not called Nastily Exhausting for no reason, you did good," Scorpius offered with a smile and kissed her gently back, he did think she'd done well especially considering her father's death and everything from last year to distract from her studies.

"Those your OWL results?" another family voice asked and Scorpius turned again to see his parents coming in with his baby brother toddling along between them, looking like he wanted nothing more than to tear off from their hands and run.

Scorpius nodded and their expressions became serious, he kept his face blank as he handed them the page. They looked so worried as they read it while Scorpius turned his attention back to the envelope which was still oddly heavy, he pulled out the booklist and was happy to see several Alchemy books were listed. It was an elective subject for NEWT students which was only taught if there was enough interest, Scorpius had signed up for it and could only assume there had been enough interest for there to be books on Alchemy. He had originally put his name down at his friend's pleading but had actually come to be quite interested in the subject, it had saved his friend's life when his soul had been damaged. The Alchemy teacher, Rayan Fintan, had seemed quite amicable as well so he was looking forward to it.

The envelope remained heavy though, Scorpius scowled and noticed there was another piece of paper in there. He was wondering whether it was some kind of extra NEWT related letter as he pulled it out, dislodging something and a shiny silver badge with a large 'C' on it fell into his palm. Scorpius started in shock and dove into the new letter.

_Dear Mr Malfoy,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been awarded Captainship of the Gryffindor Quidditch team._

_You will now take on the responsibilities and privileges of Quidditch Captain, it is your job to arrange tryouts and practices (to book the pitch, please speak to the Flying Instructor Viktor Krum once term has resumed), choose and manage players as well as dealing with any Quidditch related issues, you will also be expected to show good sportsmanship including shaking hands with fellow Captains. You will now have access to the Prefect's Bathroom, the location and password of which will be given upon arrival at Hogwarts._

_Please bear in mind, you may have earned the place of Quidditch Captain but it can be taken away subject to severe misconduct or failure to fulfil your duties. If you have any further questions or concerns, please speak to your Head of House._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Astor Myon Koray_

_Deputy Headmaster_

"Well done!" his mother exclaimed happily and Scorpius felt her arms wrapping around him tightly, Sol tried to bolt but his father grabbed his hand instead, "Five Outstandings! That's brilliant, I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks," Scorpius offered as the brunette pulled away, grinning from ear to ear and even his father gave him an approving smile.

"And what's that you got there?" his father wondered and Scorpius held out the badge.

"I erm… made Quidditch Captain apparently," Scorpius admitted uncertainly, he hadn't expected to be chosen and in truth, wasn't even sure what to do. His mother beamed even more as she pulled him into another hug.

"And Quidditch Captain too! I'm so proud of you my little boy," his mother told him cheerfully and Scorpius had to question her wording, he was taller than her now after all.

"Astoria, would you stop smothering the boy?" his father chastised her immediately. Naturally, because hugging you child like a normal parent wouldn't be very proper. His mother complied and pulled away, her smile remained and she touched his face lovingly. Molly watched on with an unfathomable expression yet somehow, he knew she was missing her own parents.

"So proud."

"What would you like as a reward? A new broom? We could get you one of those _Fallstars_ that Molly has got, I believe they should be out now to the general public."

"No," Scorpius shot it down immediately, he didn't care if his broom was outdated. It had been a gift from his grandfather. Who was dead now, "Just let Michael stay at Christmas, that's all I want."

"That's for your OWLs and it's not much of a reward."

"Do you not value people over possessions, Mr Malfoy?" Molly wondered curiously and his father seemed taken aback by the question, opening and closing his mouth several times as if trying to think of what to say.

"Well yes but-"

"Those his OWL results?" his grandmother asked as she joined them, sparing his father from having to answer.

The last two weeks of August passed by fairly uneventfully, they went to Diagon Alley to get his things where Sol and Molly got to experience the joys of being a Malfoy. Namely, the dirty looks thrown their way due to the dark reputation associated with them. Molly also had to try very hard not to look shocked by how much money was in his family's vault, what was she expecting? A small pile of Sickles and a single Galleon? No one with a vault had that little money, he was sure. Molly also seemed shocked when they headed into Knockturn Alley to look for some of the more obscure Alchemy books, he didn't like Dark Magic either but was Knockturn Alley really that bad? It wasn't like they were after anything bad. There were still a handful of Aurors patrolling Diagon Alley and everyone going in and out was subject to being searched, Molly managed to get all except his father a pass from it due to being the niece of the Head Auror and all. Molly treated him to a notebook that she joked he could use to schedule training sessions like she had when she was captain.

Unfortunately, he didn't see any of his friends walking around getting supplies. Closest he got was to meet Caitlin Birch, Freddie's girlfriend and mother of his child, who worked – and lived - in Diagon Alley, she'd been on the Quidditch team for a while so Scorpius knew her, she was nice enough. The only friend he met was Abby Longbottom, it was hard not to when her mother was Landlady of the Leaky Cauldron. She was with her boyfriend and he with his family so they didn't speak much though, she did assure him her brother was doing better. Varanian had told him about Florian's attack on the poor kid's birthday, although still weren't sure whether trying to kill Longbottoms had really been his motivation. Especially when he seemed to have been after Lysander or possibly Terra Pentakel as his primary goal, the Shadows Varanian spied on had no idea what he'd been after either.

The last day of August, he went to see Varanian for the final time before he'd be back at Hogwarts. The hideout was in a fairly isolated stretch of farmland, from the outside it was a large dilapidated wreck but inside it was nicer. It was also busier these days, Varanian making the group official had also prompted him to make more use of the people who wanted to help. The hallway was a burnt orange, the first door on the left was Roman Rivers' room. The father of his friends Orous and Maurice as well as being Molly's maternal uncle, he'd been a wreck since his fiancée's death in the Hogwarts attack and Scorpius hadn't seen him but had heard him crying from inside. There were plenty of other rooms, most of which weren't occupied but there if needed. There was a trapdoor that led to Varanian's basement, he'd started locking it recently though, apparently valuing his privacy more with extra bodies around. The corridor led straight through into the kitchen, which was where he surprisingly found a man with dust-colored hair and reddish brown eyes. Austin Latimer, his friend's father.

"What's up, Scor?" Austin offered cheerfully, twirling a wand in his hand. Which was strange considering Scorpius knew he had been expelled and lost his wand, something he desperately craved and had developed his own wandless magic due to his lack of one.

"What are you doing here?" Scorpius wondered in confusion.

"I live here now, I've been approved to be a part of Gray," Austin explained in a somewhat sardonic tone.

"You don't sound very pleased," Molly pointed out cautiously and he counted things off on his fingers.

"Well I can't leave because then I'm stuck fending for myself against Shadows who want to kill him for refusing to join them, that's just awesome. I could now be arrested for being part of a vigilante group. I get a wand – _finally_ - but I have to teach everyone how to do wandless magic. There's no alcohol allowed for no reason. I'm bored out of my mind."

"Don't you want to do your part in the war?"

"Not really," Austin admitted with a dismissive shrug before Dominique "Dom" Ashain – nee Weasley – rushed in to throw up in the sink, Austin cringed in disgust, "Ugh, couldn't you do that somewhere else?"

"Clearly not," Scorpius insisted while Molly went over to help her cousin, Austin shrugged again callously, "How's Lat?"

"Out with our insane golden eagle, you just missed him. He's really into all this fighting Shadows stuff, helping people and making a difference. All that jazz."

"Maybe because he's a good person."

"Or it's just another way for him to be suicidal," Austin pointed out seriously, making Scorpius rethink his answer lightly. Latimer – his first name was Tobias but he tended to go by his last name – had attempted suicide in the past.

"I'm fine," Dom was saying, drawing her attention back to the girls.

Dom may have married an Ashain but her hair was still Weasley red, she was naturally attractive due to her Veela heritage – still had nothing on Molly - but not so much when wiping vomit off her chin. Another member of the group also took that moment to walk in from behind Scorpius, Annie Thorne, she was his friend Michael's maternal aunt and a former paramedic. Her muggle-born status and the Death Eaters taking Hogwarts when she should have been taking her first year had meant she didn't get to go, she'd only found out she was a witch recently. She was a former paramedic and Varanian had been teaching her after she saved his life, she was often Scorpius' sparring partner and recently seemed to have given up her alcoholism. Her hair was a reddish-brown that was tied back up in a way he didn't know enough about girls' hairstyles to describe, her eyes were a sharp blue like her brother. Michael's father had merged his soul with a Specter, he left behind a trail of bodies and they hadn't found him or figured out how to stop him yet. Another reason he'd wanted his friend around.

"People usually puke when they're fine," Annie quipped as she pulled a bottle of water from the fridge.

"It's just a bug, I-"

"Nope," Annie cut the younger woman off, leaning back against the fridge to drink the water, "You're pregnant."

"I'm not pregnant!" Dom gasped in shock, Annie gave a disinterested shrug.

"Well ignore the medical professional if you want but I'm right and you're wrong."

"I'm not pregnant!"

"Do wizards and witches really think saying something over and over again makes it true?"

"Wouldn't surprise me," Austin offered and chuckled to himself while Dom just looked concerned, "Wizards can be unbelievably dense sometimes."

"You're a wizard," Scorpius pointed out and Annie seemed to notice him for the first time.

"Yeah but I'm a muggle-born so I wasn't raised cut off from common sense."

"Pip's not here if you were looking for him," Annie explained to Scorpius, much to his disappointment. She alone called Varanian by his first name. He wasn't sure if they got along on it, they seemed to bicker frequently yet they smiled more around each other, "He and Wyatt went with Hal, they're checking out Auror safe houses to try find Calderon."

"Still no luck with that?" Molly wondered and Annie shook her head.

"Warning Hal, we managed to stop the Shadows taking him but since then they've upped protection. Hal guards him but he doesn't know where, Potter brings them in shifts so they don't know the location and he's not even the Secret-Keeper. We know it's not a Shadow or they'd have got to him but any other Auror is still open season, or maybe our mysterious Minister," Annie told them before clapping her hands, "Chop-Chop, people. Austin, don't you have people to be teaching wandless magic too?"

"Fine," Austin stated acidly and stood, heading off and gesturing for Dom and Molly to follow. Molly pecked him on the cheek in goodbye.

"I'm not pregnant," Dom insisted, sparing a look over her shoulder as she left.

"You keep telling yourself that," Annie muttered before pulling something out of her pocket and tossing it to Scorpius, he caught it easily – he _was _a Seeker – and saw it was a kind of weird, blank coin, "Give that to Michael when you see him tomorrow, tell him if I can do it then he can."

"What is it?" Scorpius wondered.

"Sobriety chip. I conjured it myself," Annie offered before setting down the bottle, "Watch yourselves, I know Michael doesn't give a shit about much right now but you do so take care of him. The Shadow Master may be in Turkey right not but there's still plenty of Shadows here, not to mention Florian and Jack."

"I will," Scorpius promised and she nodded with a smile, her wand appearing in her hand as she pushed herself off the fridge.

"So do you want to spend your last day moping Pip's busy or duel?" 

"Duel," Scorpius grinned back.


	5. VI: Reunions and Seperations

_**Thanks to:** Colin Creevey and Marie for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_Am I wrong or was the boy in Scorpius' dream Antonius? _**  
><em>Maybe, maybe not. Scorpius never mentions it was him and those features describe most Ashains, or maybe its no one<em>

**_Is Gray trying to track Florian too?_**  
><em>Yes<em>

**_Where is michael owl results?_**  
><em>They went to Michael<em>

* * *

><p>"What so you're not going to give me any advice at all?" Scorpius complained of his girlfriend as they strode through King's Cross station.<p>

She, Sol and his parents had come to see him off for Hogwarts, his grandmother had said her goodbyes before they left the Manor. He was pushing his trolley of things, Free – his owl – was joined by Sol who was enjoying being pushed around on it, Scorpius did a wheelie with it and his brother whooped and laughed in ecstatic delight. He smiled slightly to himself, wondering if he'd ever been amused at something as simple as that. Molly had her own things with her as well, slung over her shoulder in a bag that had been magically extended as she was joining Varanian right after he left. His parents were following behind them, having their own conversation.

"No," Molly insisted determinedly while Sol threw a look back over his shoulder, looking hopeful and trying not to smile as if wanting another wheelie, "_You_ are the Captain now, not me, you need to figure it out on your own not have me telling you what to do."

"You couldn't even give me a hint?" Scorpius wondered hopefully while Sol whined, suddenly looking very much like a small puppy.

"Do you really want to be the one Captain who, instead of taking their own initiative, is just doing what his girlfriend tells him?"

"Yes. No. Maybe?" Scorpius guessed from the changes in her expression, she shrugged unhelpfully and he shook his head in defeat before Sol babbled something unfathomable but was surely his way of asking for another wheelie, "Alright, alright."

Scorpius picked up the pace as they reached the barrier, Sol shrieked with delight as he did a wheelie through while Free squawked disapprovingly instead. He fed the bird a treat to make up for it and stroked him through the cage while the others followed though, Sol tugged on his sleeve though and pointed to the scarlet engine standing there gleaming as always. He babbled something else random that only he could understand, looking awestruck.

"That's right, a _train_," Scorpius emphasized despite Sol's sentence having been not being remotely close, he still babbled something incorrectly.

"You're so good with your brother," Molly offered with a smile that turned sad, "If only I had that with my sister."

"How is Lucy?"

"Still furious with me, at least she's with friends," Molly shrugged and scooped up Sol who immediately pointed out the train to her as well, babbling nonsensically, "Do you want to get a closer look at the _train, _huh Sol?"

"Why don't you find your friends?" his father asked, stopping Scorpius from going after Molly as she wondered off towards the train to show Sol, "We'll get this stuff on the train."

"Err… Sure," Scorpius agreed, slightly surprised his father was so willing, "Thank you, Father."

Scorpius left them to it, he slipped away into the crowd to search for familiar faces or Molly, who he'd lost track off. He caught sight of a snatch of white hair though and headed towards it, finding three of his friends. One was the emerald-eyed Vern Dursley, the orphaned muggle-born had been taken in by the Potters, a Badger amongst Lions. He had a head of stringy brown hair and had shot up over the summer, surpassing his companions in height as well as fleshing out his wiry frame with some more muscle. He was standing – and holding hands - with his girlfriend, Olivia Nott, a brunette Slytherin in the same year, and the sons of Roman Rivers. He noticed all four of them now had a shiny badge pinned to their chests.

Orous Knox was an albino, as a result his skin was beyond pale and his eyes were a bloody crimson which both made the dark circles beneath his eyes more prominent. His hair was whiter than snow naturally rather than from age, it had a slight wave to it. He was in the year below Scorpius and a Hufflepuff like Vern, unlike his Gryffindor twin beside him. Maurice Rivers had regular Caucasian skin and light brown hair that also had a slight wave to it, his features were misleadingly soft and his oceanic eyes were burdened by the same tired shadows as his brother. His hands were scarred by layers of words from his time in the Shadow school that had taught him to be a soldier, one was clasped around the necklace he wore around his neck. Maurice was deaf, the necklace translated words to speech for him to read.

"Scor!" Orous greeted him cheerfully in a deeper voice then the last time he'd seen him and gave Scorpius a hug, he pulled away with a tired smile, "So you made Quidditch Captain too, huh?"

"Too?" Scorpius repeated and glanced at the badge on his friend's robes, noticing it too had a 'C' engraved. He returned the smile, "Well done, mate. So the rest of you..."

"Prefect," Olivia offered, grinning proudly and gesturing to the 'P' badges her and her boyfriend wore. Along with Maurice, much to Scorpius' confusion as he'd been taking OWLs with them last year. His lifetime of Shadow schooling had put him ahead of the usual, he'd been in Scorpius' classes since Christmas due to outstanding performance. Did this mean he'd failed them and wouldn't be doing NEWTs?

"I'm still technically a Fifth Year despite being in your classes, I sleep in their dormitory and count as one of them I think," Maurice explained as if reading his mind, "Of course I made Prefect. I'll be doing NEWTs, I got straight Outstandings on my OWLs."

"Well done," Scorpius congratulated him, not sure why he was surprised, "I only got five, one Acceptable and the rest were all Exceeds Expectations."

"That's still good," Vern offered encouragingly, "You did better than Albus. And James for that matter."

"Kyle and Maxie too," Olivia agreed, she had too two older brothers. One had graduated the year before last and one was in Scorpius' year, she had a younger as well who was a Second Year. As if on cue, a short, brunette boy rushed over to her and she smiled at her brother in greeting, "Hey Aloysius, you kn-"

"Dad has to leave for work, he wants us to say bye now," Aloysius – presumably – blurted out breathlessly.

"Ah right, okay. Catch you guys later," Olivia offered with a wave, giving Vern a peck on the cheek and hurrying off with her brother.

"You guys still going strong?" Scorpius asked conversationally.

"Real strong," Vern confirmed with a blush and a nod to which Maurice averted his eyes darkly, no doubt thinking of his own, dead girlfriend.

"Hey!" Abby's voice called and they turned to see a girl with a long braid of blonde hair approaching with her boyfriend, Sequoia Pentakel, who had his arm around her. The Ravenclaw was tall and had numerous scars from the werewolf attack that Scorpius had saved him from, brown hair and sharp blue eyes. He was the Captain and Seeker so technically a rival, Scorpius had always found him to be friendly enough though, "How is everyone?"

"Fine," they chorused minus Maurice, who apparently had had enough of seeing couples.

"I've got to go help Cade with the trunks," Maurice said instead and went off to which Orous rolled his eyes, watching his brother leave darkly.

"How's August doing?" Vern asked of Abby.

"Alright considering," Abby admitted nervously, "Gabrielle does work as a Healer, she managed to get to him in time. He has scars where the chains burned him but the rest is healed, his hair is still growing back though so don't make fun of him for being bald or having no eyebrows."

"I wouldn't do that," Vern laughed, as did the rest of them at the memory of him shaving his hair off a few years ago to make Olivia feel less self-conscious about James cutting hers off. Except Pentakel, who wasn't part of the group and wouldn't understand.

"Erm… Am I missing the joke?" Pentakel asked worriedly.

"I'll tell you later," Abby assured him gently, rubbing his chest soothingly which drew Scorpius' attention to the myriad of badges. He was Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain, a Prefect and… had a new badge.

"You made Head Boy?" Scorpius wondered in surprise and Pentakel grinned nervously as he nodded, "Congratulations."

"Thanks. I just wish my parents were alive to see," Pentakel sighed with a melancholy expression before recognition flickered, "Congratulations yourself, good job making Quidditch Captain."

"Orous did too."

"Well done," Pentakel offered the younger boy with a smile, "Guess we'll be shaking hands on the pitch soon. Good luck."

"Thanks," Orous nodded and returned the smile weakly, "May the best Captain win."

"As long as it's not Grozda," Abby pointed out and they laughed again, even Pentakel this time although Scorpius couldn't help but feel she hadn't meant it jokingly. She and Albus were not fond of the others' dates.

"What about Grozda?" Albus questioned, appearing beside Scorpius and making them jump. The middle Potter boy had his father's emerald eyes but not the glasses, his hair was jet black though and untidy too. He and Scorpius were the same height, this wasn't enough to match Pentakel though.

"Wondering if she made Head Girl," Pentakel lied as Albus folded his arms, glowering at the taller boy.

"Oh right, no, she didn't."

"Sequoia made Head Boy," Abby pointed out proudly and Albus seemed to resist the urge to scowl.

"Well Grozda doesn't need to be Head Girl, she's perfect and awesome just how she is."

"Where is she anyway?"

"Talking to her friends," Albus grumbled under his breath, eying Pentakel, "Don't you have friends to talk to?"

"I'm doing that, Abby's a friend too," Pentakel pointed out to which she smiled.

"You know Abby is just a nickname, right?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know what it's short for?" Albus asked of him confidently, Abby's face flushed scarlet and Pentakel looked somewhat uncertain.

"Abigail?"

"Nope! Its Abigaia," Albus confirmed happily, "Don't you think her _boyfriend_ should know that?"

"I erm…"

"Sequoia, could you help me with my trunk please?" a younger girl who bore a strong enough resemblance to him to be his sister asked.

"Of course," Sequoia agreed and gave Abby a kiss goodbye as he went with her, "I'll see you on the train."

"See Abby? He's all wrong for you," Albus pointed out as if it were obvious, Abby looked incredulous.

"What? Because I didn't tell him my embarrassing name?"

"Didn't you see his reaction? He didn't laugh at all! He has no sense of humor."

"Just because he didn't laugh at my name?! Maybe his sense of humor is just more mature than yours!" Abby protested irritably, "Not everyone has the maturity of a five year old-"

"I do not have the maturity of a five year-"

"You do too have the maturity of-"

"Err… Hi?" a small voice asked, effectively ending their argument and the group turned to the newcomer, "You're Michael's friends, right?"

It was a girl and not even a student, Scorpius recognized her as one of Michael's sisters. She looked around Antonius' age, her long dark hair was tied back in a ponytail and he thought she bore a strong resemblance to her mother. Or at least, half of her face did. The left side had been decimated by Greyback's claws, the livid scar lines tearing down from her forehead to her chin which destroyed half her mouth, one nostril and left grooves in the closed eyelid. Presumably the eye was beyond repair, leaving her with a lone azure orb on the good side. She was only his half-sister, Michael's mother – Crystal – had had him as a teenager then later had four children with her abusive – now dead – husband, Bob.

"Yes," Albus confirmed, looking taken aback at her speaking to them while she twiddled her thumbs, "And you are his… sister?"

"Agnes," the girl introduced herself.

"And what can we do for you, Agnes?"

"I erm… I just wondered if erm… may-maybe Michael had told you what I've done wrong to make him hate me?" Agnes asked nervously, looking very desperate, "I can't make it up to him if I don't know what I've done wrong."

"Michael doesn't hate you," Scorpius assured her and she looked extremely disheartened.

"He acts like he hates me."

"Agnes!" a gruff voice barked and Agnes jumped in surprise as her elder brother approached her, "Go back to Crystal, you know you're not supposed to wonder off."

Michael Sanford had once been the shortest of their number but he'd had a hell of a growth spurt the previous summer, he was taller than them all but part-giant Corin now. His soft childish features had hardened and he looked more mature, he had a scar running from his forehead to his cheek that Scorpius had inflicted on him accidentally back in their Second Year. That eye was a prosthetic and was golden as it picked up on his werewolf condition, the other was a dazzling hazel like his mother. His hair was a tangled mess of blond-brown hair flecked with red and an increasing amount of gray, his facial hair was new though as he had a full beard. He still wore the friendship bracelet Scorpius had given him, he also still wore a locket and dog tags that had belonged to his family.

"Merlin's beard, Michael, you have a beard!" Albus burst out in shock as he saw him, his jaw dropping, "Can't you have a summer where you don't dramatically change your appearance?!"

"Nice to see you too, Albus," Michael quipped before Scorpius embraced his friend.

"It's good to see you," Scorpius offered before they pulled apart, Michael smiled before noticing his sister.

"Agnes! What did I just say?! Go back to Crystal!"

"Sorry," Agnes muttered and scampered away, he noticed Albus patting his face as if expecting a beard to suddenly sprout.

"Any particular reason why you hate your sister?" Vern wondered curiously.

"I don't hate my sister," Michael insisted, looking surprised, "Why would you think that I do?"

"Because she came over to ask us if we knew what she'd done to incur your wrath, she thinks you hate her."

"I don't," Michael reiterated and hesitated a moment, "Maybe I've been a little distant with her but it's for their own safety, I'm a werewolf after all."

"How did you get a beard?" Albus asked, finally giving up patting his face, "I want a beard. Girls love beards."

"I don't know, it just… grew."

"But I'm older then you, why don't I get a beard?" Albus whined and Abby laughed, "What?"

"Just… nothing, you're so childish," Abby shook her head, "Come on, we should be saying goodbye to our families and getting on the train. It'll leave soon."

"I'm not childish," Albus protested as she went off in the direction of the plump Landlady he knew to be her mother, standing with a bald, eyebrowless teen that he could only assume was August, "How was I being childish?"

"Give it up, Al," Vern offered as he clapped him on the back.

He used it to lead his cousin away - while Albus continued to insist he was mature - to where Mrs Potter – and surprisingly, the Head Auror himself – was talking to Lily. He thought she'd gotten taller as well, she did look more like her mother with brown eyes and Weasley red hair but the unruliness of it was distinctly Potter as were the glasses she wore. Orous scurried over to where Maurice stood with the tall, bald firefighter he knew to be Cade Knox, the twins' widowed stepfather. It was actually a good thing, their mother had been a Shadow and had been as far from a loving wife and mother as she could get. It took him a second to realize he was alone with Michael, he pulled out the chip and handed it to him.

"From your aunt, she says if she can do it then you can," Scorpius told him while Michael studied it, he was surprised to see the blank coin formed lettering when his friend touched it so it read '9 hours.' This made Scorpius think of something, had it been charmed to show the last time the person who touched it had drank? It would explain why it was blank for Scorpius but not for Michael, it would also mean he'd been drinking much more recently then Scorpius would've liked, "Have you been drinking again?"

"Yes," Michael admitted quite readily and his tone became defensive when Scorpius' jaw dropped, "I never said I was going to stop drinking, just not while in Hogwarts. Check my trunk and bags or whatever if you don't believe me, I didn't bring any alcohol and I deliberately used the last of it last night. Wasn't even enough left to get me drunk. I'm not going to drink in school, don't worry."

"Is that why you didn't want to come to my house? Because you wanted to drink?"

"It might've contributed," Michael shrugged and Scorpius couldn't help but feel hurt, "I thought I was going to flunk my OWLs anyway, it's not like it mattered. There's always next year."

"Or Christmas," Scorpius pointed out and Michael tilted his head curiously to one side, "Since I did well on my OWLs I can have you over for the Christmas break. How did you do on your OWLs by the way?"

"An Acceptable for Arithmancy, two Outstandings for Defense Against the Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures then the rest were Exceeds Expectations."

"Michael, that's great," Scorpius offered encouragingly with smile, momentarily forgetting his hurt and clapping his friend on the shoulder, "And you thought you'd fail."

"I did," Michael said seriously, "I couldn't even look at them, I was so nervous I couldn't even read the damn thing so I gave it Crystal to read and when she started to tell me I threw up all over the kitchen table. I'd gotten a muggle job cleaning dishes because I thought I'd not be allowed in the wizarding world when I failed my OWLs."

"Well you did it, you beat your Dyslexia for OWLs and you can do it again for NEWTs then you can get a wizarding job."

"When did you get so positive?" Michael scoffed, looking somewhat amused and Scorpius shrugged sheepishly.

"I guess I've just been having a good summer."

"Well that makes one of us," Michael sighed and the train whistled, "We really should say goodbye to our families now."

* * *

><p>Pyrrhus Florian waited impatiently, pacing around the small kitchen. He was in a lousy mood, it had taken him a lot longer to recover from the injuries Alaric had inflicted then he'd wanted because werewolf wounds were unhealable curse wounds. The broken bones had healed by now and he had some nasty scars where his 'wing' had been torn by the claws, his shoulder still smarted though and he didn't have full mobility with it. He wasn't sure he'd ever regain full mobility, the bastard had almost completely severed his arm. Carver was on board with his plan though at least and even had drawn some of his half-siblings into helping, it was a small consolation considering how far he'd been set back. Damn Alaric, he'd pay for what he'd done. Pyrrhus had the perfect revenge planned for him. Not that that really helped in the current moment, he still had things to do first.<p>

He was distracted by the sound of the door and immediately transformed back into a moth, flying out to watch the family returning from dropping the werewolf boy off to Hogwarts. There were four little ones, two girls and two boys. The middle two ran upstairs to play, the youngest went into the front room to watch TV and the eldest also went upstairs, just in a calmer fashion with her head hung and her expression melancholy. The mother went into the kitchen to start making lunch, that was who he was after and she'd just made it easy. She was only a few years older than he was, very beautiful with dazzling hazel eyes and milky skin. Her long hair was tied back, a blond-brown color with flecks of red and strands of gray. She was very thin, maybe even unhealthily so which was even weirder considering she'd carried five children.

She wore old frumpy clothes, probably to try draw attention away from her better features which he attributed to her abusive ex-husband. Either he'd made her dress that way in paranoia of her drawing the attention of other men and it stuck or she'd dressed that way herself to try keep her husband's attention off her and it stuck. She looked sad and stressed, he was just going to make her feel even worse. He did feel a pang of pity for what she'd been through – no one deserved that - and another of guilt for what he was about to do, nonetheless he had no choice if he wanted to end the war so his son could live in peace and she was a bad person anyway. Everyone was a bad person. He swooped down and reverted back into a human behind her as she went to open the fridge, he drew his wand.

"Crystal Sanford, I presume?" Pyrrhus questioned, she must've jumped about a foot in the air and as she spun to face him. She opened her mouth to scream and he struck her, more forcefully then he'd realized as he knocked her to the ground with blood trickling from her mouth. He could hardly apologize though, he needed to be threatening. He hauled her back to her feet and she gazed at him with frightened eyes, "I just asked you a question, I don't think that requires a scream. We wouldn't want to disturb your little ones after all so tell me, are you Crystal Sanford?"

"Yes," Crystal admitted fearfully but without screaming as he held her there against the fridge with one hand, the other aiming at her neck. He jerked his head to indicate it.

"And you know what this is?"

"Yes."

"So you know the things I can do to you with this?"

"Please, I'll do anything you want," Crystal pleaded as he met her terror-filled eyes, "Just don't hurt my children."

"Jack Thorne."

"What about him?" Crystal whispered and his attention was drawn to the dog tags she wore, he lifted them up with his wand.

"Whose are these?" Pyrrhus asked curiously as childish memories filtered back in.

"My Father's."

"He was a soldier?"

"He was a hero, died before I was born," Crystal told him and he let them drop again.

"I used to think that too, you know?" Pyrrhus commented to her thoughtfully, "When I was a child. I loved History, I used to think soldiers were heroes for keeping us safe, that they were good men and women, honorable, admirable. But you know what?"

"What?"

"I was wrong," Pyrrhus admitted and felt tears pricking his gritty eyes, "It's not admirable or honorable being a soldier. They hurt people, they don't protect them. It's a lie. Everything's a lie. There is no good and bad, there's just bad. Everyone is just bad."

"I don't believe that," Crystal whispered and he felt a spark of anger, he struck her again and she whimpered in pain as her head the fridge.

"Then you're a fool, Crystal Sanford, you should know that," Pyrrhus snapped at her as she looked back him with tears brimming in her eyes, "How many times have you been treated with kindness and how many times with cruelty? How many times was that kindness been done without ulterior motive? People are bad, people are _always_ bad. They hurt me, they hurt you, they hurt everyone."

"What do you want?" Crystal asked pleadingly.

"Jack Thorne."

"He's not here."

"But you know where he is, don't you?" Pyrrhus questioned and her eyes bulged in horror.

"No! No, I don't," Crystal insisted fiercely, sounding very genuine, "I haven't seen him in months and I have no idea where he went or how to contact him."

"Don't lie to me!" Pyrrhus snarled and struck her again, this time deliberately violently and she cried out in pain, "Where is Jack Thorne?"

"I don't know!" Crystal shrieked and he hit her again, and again on the other side to knock her bloody face back to him, "I swear I don't know! Please."

"How many times have you begged for mercy and actually been given it?" Pyrrhus questioned and when she didn't answer he struck her again, there was a crack as his fist collided with her nose. He knew it was broken, "Answer me!"

"Nub!" Crystal cried and he flicked his wand, snapping her nose back into place.

"What was that?"

"None, I said none!" Crystal sobbed, shaking in fear but he still held her there.

"Then what makes you think I will?" Pyrrhus asked her and struck her again when she said nothing, trying to avoid her nose because her words still needed to be understandable, "Tell me where he is or I can keep this up all day! If you get too badly hurt then I just can heal you and start again then heal you and start again, you're only prolonging your pain and wasting time I could be spending with my little boy! So tell me, where is Jack Thorne?!"

"I don't know!" Crystal insisted yet again and he rewarded her with a barrage of blows, he did feel a slight rush of power but it was overwhelmed by how sick he felt with himself and how much his heart screamed it was wrong. He hated it. And his hand hurt. He grabbed her to slam her back against the fridge and she flinched, tears streamed from her eyes mingling with the blood on her face. She didn't look beautiful anymore, "Bob, please, Bob, please."

"I'm not Bob!" Pyrrhus protested, "Tell me where Jack Thorne is!"

"Bob, please, Bob, please, Bob, please," Crystal kept pleading, her eyes half-squeezed and half-swollen shut as she stayed lost in her own little world. He threw her to the ground behind him in frustration.

"So this is what you do now, huh? Beat on defenseless women?" a familiar voice questioned and Pyrrhus in terror to his left, seeing his stocky, older brother standing there with his arms folded.

"You're dead, Joel," Pyrrhus pointed out fearfully, feeling extremely disturbed.

"I may be dead, Pyrrhy, but I still exist in your mind, in your memories and so I will be with you until the day you die," Joel explained as a cruel smirk crept onto his face, "Then you'll be in hell with me, baby brother, and I can torment you for all of time."

"Shut up, Joel, you're a liar and you're dead. I'm in hell, you're just nothing," Pyrrhus spat at him as he turned back to Crystal crying on the floor.

"So you gonna back to wailing on the hot chick here? I can get behind that. Reminds me of that fun game I used to play with you when we were kids, what was that called again? Oh yeah, 'Beat-the-Crap-of-Pyrrhus.'"

"I hated that game!" Pyrrhus snapped at his brother, turning back to him with tears pricking his eyes again at painful memories. Joel's smile only widened.

"I know, that's what made it so fun."

"Mummy!" a new voice cried.

Pyrrhus turned in terror, for a second fearing it was another hallucination but it was her son, the youngest. It gave him a new idea, he waved his wand over Crystal to heal her and instead strode over to the little boy. For a wonder, he didn't run but just stood there staring at his mother with fearful eyes and trembling. Pyrrhus grabbed his shoulder and turned back to Crystal who seemed to have been snapped out of her episode due to the healing, he pointed his wand at the boy who burst into tears immediately.

"You gonna hurt the kid now?" Joel wondered with interest as he walked back into view, "You know how much I love hurting kids, Pyrrhy. Reminds me of another fun game I used to play with you when we were kids, it was called-"

"SHUT UP!" Pyrrhus screamed at Joel, Crystal was frozen as she stared unblinkingly at her son, "Tell me where Jack Thorne is or the kid gets it."

"I don't know," Crystal repeated, slowly and precisely as if he trying to make it sound as clear as possible, "I swear, I don't know. I would tell you if I knew, that's my _son_. I don't know where Jack is, I really don't."

"Well that's rather unfortunate then because you're my only link to him so here's how it going to go, I'm going to take this little guy here and you're going to get in contact with Jack Thorne."

"No!" Crystal cried as tears bled from her eyes again, "Take me instead, just let Bertie go. He's four years old! He's innocent! Don't take my son!"

"Oh I'll give him back to you, don't worry," Pyrrhus assured her with a smile, "Every day that passes without you finding your boyfriend, I'll send you back a piece of little baby Bertie here. Find him for me and I'll give you him back as a whole, or whatever's left of him by then. And if you tell any kind of Law Enforcement or Gray then I'll give him right back in tiny pieces after killing him as painfully as possible."

"I DON'T KNOW WHERE JACK IS!" Crystal screamed at him and Bertie cried harder.

"Well you better find him then. And find him fast," Pyrrhus told her before disapparating with the little boy.


	6. VI: The Train and Pain

_**Thanks to:** Lucifersdaughter and Colin Creevey for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_He wouldn't really do that would he? _**  
><em>You will find out next chapter<em>

**_Why was he (Florian) trying to kill the others at the party?_**  
><em>Because he still hates Neville and thinks his children should die because he doesn't deserve them. The others he just didn't want them getting help or interfering (he deliberately gave them a chance to live though, unlike August)<em>

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><p>Scorpius bade goodbye to his family and Molly before stepping back onto the Hogwarts Express, he went to get a compartment with his friends but found himself sorely disappointed. Abby, Michael, Maurice and Vern all had to go off to the Prefect's compartment and their train patrolling while Orous had apparently promised Lily he'd sit with her and her friends for the journey. The compartment felt rather empty with just him and Albus, they were joined by Rose Weasley and Corin Maxime-Hagrid who he'd missed on the platform.<p>

"It's because of the extra security," Corin explained in his very deep voice despite being the year below him, he was Professor Hagrid's son with his ex-girlfriend who was Headmistress of Beauxbatons. Unlike his father, he was as skinny as a beanpole and clean-shaven, he had the same glittering black eyes and his hair was dark though and the wildness seemed tamed although he seemed to have let it grow a bit. Due to his part-giant heritage, he was very tall and inching closer to seven foot, "With the Shadows taking countries, it's a nightmare traveling between England and France."

"They insisted on going through all our stuff before letting us through and that was after going through it all to get onto the train in the first place," Rose complained, flicking her long, bushy Weasley-red hair back over her shoulder. She had the trademark freckles too and her father's eyes set in her mother's features, she hadn't changed a bit of the summer. She was dating Corin and had spent the last few weeks in Beauxbatons with he and his mother, hence why she had to travel back with him by train in one of the other platforms before coming onto Nine and Three Quarters, "It was most frustrating."

"Not as frustrating as the news they're cancelling the Triwizard Tournament," Corin said with a sigh, the last one had been four years ago and Abby's older sister had won it but it hadn't been held in Hogwarts so Scorpius hadn't seen it, "They think it's too dangerous with the Shadows. I was so looking forward to my Mother being around."

"Damn," Albus muttered with a scowl as he slouched back lazily, "I so wanted to enter that, my birthday's in October so I so could've. And I could've won too, just like my Dad."

"I don't think so, Al," Rose laughed to which Corin smirked and Albus threw a moody look at his cousin.

"So how was Beauxbatons anyway? As great as Corin claims?"

"Oh it was wonderful, you should see-" Rose started to answer enthusiastically but stopped as the compartment door slid open, revealing the sallow-skinned Slytherin girl that Albus was dating. Grozda Krum.

"There you are," Grozda greeted him with a smile, Albus sat bolt upright immediately as a grin filled his face.

"Grozzie! There's my wonderful, beautiful, uber-talented girlfriend," Albus greeted her as he jumped up to sloppy-looking kiss her on the cheek, she blushed either at the praise or the kiss, "You remember my-"

"Yes, of course. Scorpius, Corin and… one of your cousins Weasley," Grozda cut him off, nodding to each of them in turn, "I hope you had a good summer."

"I stayed in Beauxbatons, I was just about to Al about it," Rose spoke up, "Why don't you sit and join us?"

"Vell, that sounds interesting but I cannot," Grozda shot her down and turned back to Albus, taking his hand, "Come on, you can sit with me on the train and ve can catch up."

"Wh-Couldn't we do that here?" Albus wondered, looking slightly reluctant to leave them and Grozda looked taken aback for a second.

"Not if you vant our kisses to catch up as vell," Grozda offered lowly and Albus seemed surprised before grinning as he let her lead him out.

"See you guys on the carriages!" Albus called behind as if it was an afterthought.

"Can you believe her?" Rose moaned, slumping back and folding her arms crossly, "Slytherins are so selfish. First Lenore kept dragging Maurice away and now Grozda's got my cousin, honestly, what is wrong with people in that house?"

"Lenore died trying to protect the school and students," Scorpius reminded her firmly, feeling compelled to defend the dead girl and Rose at least had the decency to look a little guilty while Corin hung his head ashamedly.

"I know and that was brave and all but she was still annoying when she was alive. Not that she deserved to die or anything for it, it's sad and all that she died," Rose protested defensively, "So anyway about Beauxbatons, it was wonderful and you should see-"

"Hold that thought," Scorpius interrupted, getting the feeling he was going to have to hear what didn't begin like a very interesting account very much. Corin had told them many, many times before how wonderful Beauxbatons was in appearance and how it was done, "I'm really hungry, I'm going to see if I can find the Trolley Lady."

"Oh well, alright."

Scorpius got up and left without another word, sighing as he found himself alone in the corridor as the train chugged alone. He wasn't hungry nor did he plan on finding her, instead he scanned the compartments for signs of Orous. He did know Lily and her friends even if they weren't his own friends, with any luck they'd let him sit with them and if not then he supposed he'd have to just suck it up and listen to how beautiful Beauxbatons looked yet again. Thankfully he found them fairly quickly when spotting a compartment of light and red hair, Orous was sitting with Lily, Hugo, August, Lorcan and surprisingly, the younger Scamander twin as well. Nervously, he pulled the door open and the six heads swiveled in his direction.

"Can…Can I please sit here by any chance?" Scorpius asked politely.

"Sure," Hugo agreed readily, the mass of bushy red-hair moving up slightly to allow Scorpius to take a seat.

"Any particular reason why?" August inquired dully, he seemed to have put on a conical had to hide his baldness which would've been better if the hat wasn't too big and resting where his eyebrows should be.

"Rose started telling me about Beauxbatons so… Now I'm here," Scorpius explained truthfully, Hugo and Lily laughed.

"You should read her letters," Lily offered in way of explanation.

"It's actually good you're here," Lorcan spoke up in a gruffer voice then he'd had before, the anxious boy sounding unusually excited although he still had his wand in hand as always, "Lysander remembers."

"Lysander remembers?" Scorpius repeated, slightly confused.

"His abduction, he remembers."

"Oh, really?" Scorpius questioned, turning to the other twin who nodded sheepishly.

"When the Shadows came after Florian, they returned his memories."

"Why'd they return them?"

"No idea," Lorcan shrugged but didn't seem too concerned.

"Do you…" Scorpius started to ask of Lysander but decided against it, he wouldn't like to be asked to talk about his abduction after all.

"It's alright," Lysander assured him with a strained smile, his voice was smooth and softly spoken unlike his twin, "I don't mind talking about it."

"Are you sure?" Orous asked in a gentler tone and Scorpius noticed for the first time that he was holding Lily's hand.

"Yes. Not much to say really," Lysander admitted and took a deep breath, "After they took us from the park, they took Lorc away to the muggle because he kept fighting them and trying to protect me. You were so brave, I don't know why you didn't make Gryffindor like me because you're much braver then me."

"Because the hat fears being lit on fire. And with good reason," August quipped and shifted uncomfortably, everyone but Hugo and Lorcan looked at him in confusion. The Ravenclaw rolled his eyes, "Never mind, continue."

"So… they took me to this room. It wasn't bad, it was quite nice really. Fancy. There was a nice bed and an ensuite bathroom, the faucets all looked like they had the decoration engraved by fairies. I was handcuffed to the bed at night but at day I was free, well confined to those two rooms since it was locked but free. I could go to the toilet, bathe and get a drink of water whenever I wanted. It was only when I had company it was bad," Lysander continued and paused for a moment, taking another breath as if it this bit was harder to recount, "S-Sometimes they would bring me food, not a lot but sometimes. But most times it was bad. Half the time they would beat me, they'd always heal me before they left but it still hurt when it was happening. And in my memories of it happening. The other half the time they would use the Cruciatus Curse, that was… was not very nice."

"It's okay, Lys," Lorcan assured his brother and reached out to pat him on the shoulder, he managed one tap before his hand recoiled as if burned and he was breathing heavily, anxiety scribbled on his face. Lysander gave him a smile.

"Thank you, Lorc, even the smallest steps will shake away those nasty touch gremlins in time."

"And that's it?" Scorpius wondered curiously, drawing back the Scamanders attention, "I mean, I'm sorry you through that but why erase your memory?"

"I was really sad about it," Lysander admitted ashamedly, "And I missed my family, my friends and my home too. I use to cry a lot. Brutus Ashain took pity on me, he said I wouldn't have to remember if I couldn't cope with it so he took the memories away and they drifted like clouds."

"I guess maybe Brutus decided you were old enough to cope now?" Orous guessed, exchanging a look with Scorpius who could only shrug, "Wonder why he didn't want to erase our memories."

"Well your mind already got scrambled - you know like eggs? – when your soul got broken up so maybe he just didn't want to risk making you worse?" Lysander prompted and Orous shifted so uncomfortably that Lily gave his hand a comforting squeeze, Lysander apparently didn't notice, "Do you like your eggs scrambled, Orous?"

"No."

"A shame," Lysander admitted, sounding slightly disappointed, "I do. I think they taste lovely with ketchup."

The conversation shifted to more pleasant things when Hugo brought up Quidditch, an easy icebreaker and pathway to lighter things. They couldn't discuss anything more serious with Lysander there, he may remember and seemed to be making an effort to build bridges with his brother but that didn't mean he was automatically part of Gray. He still thought regaining his memories suddenly was a bit strange as well, was it really that simple? He wasn't going to trust him with things like that, he didn't even know if Lysander was interested. Scorpius didn't think he was based off the conversation, he was more interested in innocent things, a myriad of creatures that Scorpius was sure didn't exist and girls. Scorpius found himself starting to feel rather left out, Orous was friends with Hugo and dating Lily so knew them well and was more familiar with the others whereas Scorpius was not.

He excused himself the same way he had with Corin and Rose, deciding to just suck it up and listen to the beauty of Beauxbatons. However, he found they were snogging quite passionately and politely pretended he hadn't seen as he moved along. Now what? He glanced out the window, the sky had darkened by now which he took to be a good sign that they were possibly closer to their destination then to London. He went to the toilet for something to do despite being not being desperate but, it was on his way back that he heard it. A choked sob. He felt compelled to make sure the person was alright so he towards it, finding the source was a little girl standing out alone in the corridor.

She was a First Year, already in her unsorted robes that were actually quite shabby looking and ill-fitting as if they were hand-me-downs or had been bought second-hand. She had a wild, tangled mess of red hair that looked like it had never seen a brush, it hung loosely to her shoulders and fell over her face. She stood with her arms wrapped protectively around her, looking very alone and pitiful. She looked up when he approached her, revealing a delicate, freckly face and large, cloudy gray eyes that were red from crying.

"I-I'm s-sorry, I didn't disturb you, did I?" the girl asked in a small, soft voice and looked almost frightened of incurring his wrath.

"No, it's alright," Scorpius assured her and gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile, trying to figure out what to say next, "I'm Scorpius, what's your name?"

"Martha."

"Are you okay, Martha?" Scorpius asked her gently and she wiped her eyes with her sleeve, "You shouldn't be standing out here crying by yourself."

"All the compartments are full," Martha told him, gesturing down the length of the train.

"You could try asking to sit with some people, maybe some other First Years."

"I tried but they laughed at my robes and I'm scared to try any others," Martha admitted, her eyes tearing up again, "I can't help it, this is the best my foster parents could afford."

"Where are your real parents?" Scorpius blurted out before realizing how stupid a thing it was to ask.

"I don't have a Mum and my Dad died recently."

"Hogsmeade?"

"Yeah," Martha nodded and the tears dribbled from her eyes, "Sad thing is, he didn't even live there. He was just shopping."

"I'm sorry about your Dad," Scorpius said gently, hoping it made up for asking and she wiped at her eyes with her sleeve again.

"Thank you."

"Come on, Martha, let's find you a compartment," Scorpius offered, holding out his hand to her and her face screwed up fearfully.

"What if they laugh at my robes?"

"Then I'll jinx them into the middle of next week," Scorpius assured her and she gave the weakest of smiles before taking his hand.

He led her down the length of the train, glancing in compartments for signs of friendly-looking First Years for Martha to sit with. Finally, he spotted not exactly what he was looking for but close enough. Only one First Year girl but she was sitting with people he knew, he slid the door open and the three occupants turned to him. Byron Knight was a Slytherin but nonetheless a kindhearted boy going into his Third Year, he'd been a victim of James Potter's brutal bullying the previous two years and had a brother in Scorpius' year. His friend with him, Pollux Koray, was a Ravenclaw and son of the Astronomy professor who'd end up severely hurt standing up to James for Byron which left his lungs damaged. They were why Hogwarts was finally rid of the plague known as James Potter, he'd been expelled. The girl was new, she bore a strong resemblance to Pollux though and he'd guess a sister.

"Hi Scorpius," Byron offered kindly with a smile, he wasn't looking unhealthy thin anymore but he did still look tired. He was pale with straggly brown pair, a scar on his neck and was known to have two prosthetic legs due to the werewolves attacking Hogsmeade. Pollux was the one who looked gaunt and exhausted now, he eyed Scorpius with more pragmatic confusion. He knew them but they weren't friends, in fact he didn't think he'd ever spoken to Pollux.

"Hi Byron, Pollux and erm…" Scorpius trailed off as he looked at the girl, she – unlike Martha – wore pristine robes and had straight, shiny dark hair with some it tied back but long bangs. She was olive-skinned like her father and brother with the same deep, dark blue eyes.

"My younger sister, Auriga," Pollux provided in a rasp and the girl smiled nervously, "She's starting this year."

"Nice to meet you," Scorpius offered and gently pulled Martha into view, "This is Martha, she's also starting this year and doesn't have anywhere to sit. Any chance she could sit with you?"

"No problem," Byron agreed without a moment's hesitation.

"See, there's some friendly people in Hogwarts too," Scorpius assured Martha with another smile and the girl looked wistful before returning the smile weakly.

"Thank you, Scorpius, you're a good person," Martha told him before taking a seat beside Auriga, he turned to leave but Byron spoke again.

"And Sc-Scorpius, could you do me a favor?"

"Err… What?" Scorpius wondered in confusion and Byron shifted slightly, his expression saddening.

"Ju-Just be nice to my brother, would you? He's really stressed and I know NEWTs is supposed to be rough," Byron explained and gazed at him anxiously, Scorpius didn't see any reason to _not_ do so. His brother was alright and he had no idea if they'd even be in any of the same classes.

"Sure, if I see him."

"Thank you," Byron said with relief as Scorpius left, closing the door behind him and seeing Auriga had already started talking to Martha with a kindly expression. He hoped it was a good sign.

He continued on his way back to one of his friends and did actually run into the Trolley Lady, he bought himself a Pumpkin Pasty to not make a liar out of himself. She assured him they weren't that far from Hogwarts though, changing compartments had actually probably made him miss her. He rejoined Corin and Rose when he saw they were just chatting – and seemed to have lost track of time as they didn't comment on his long absence - and could focus on eating his pasty while Rose marveled at the beauty of Beauxbatons for him, he would definitely be hearing that later on. It was much warmer in their compartment then Orous' though, he had to open a window.

"Scor, I'm freezing," Rose complained when he did so and Corin immediately slammed it shut.

"I'm hot," Scorpius protested with a slight cough as the words caught in his throat.

"Deux beats un," Corin told him determinedly.

"I love when you speak French," Rose complimented him and giggled as Corin launched into a long French spiel to which Scorpius rolled his eyes, why had he not gone back to Orous again?

It was a really warm night, he didn't see why they could complain. Scorpius was relieved when the train finally pulled to a halt and he could head, he'd started to sweat by the time he had to make his way through the throng to get outside. He found himself walking on shaking legs, the heat was in his heat and making him dizzy.

"You okay, Scor?" Corin asked him as they made it out on the platform, the part-giant putting a hand on his shoulder to steady him.

"The heat," Scorpius complained with a cough, his voice sounding raspier, "So stuffy in there."

"Sorry but Rose said she was cold, I had to be a Gentleman."

"Uh-huh," Scorpius muttered as another cough ripped through him, "Let's just get a carriage."

"Alright."

Scorpius wondered through the platform, trying to keep pace with his friends. The noise wasn't helping, all the loud people and Professor Hagrid yelling for First Years. It was all dark and disorientating. The cold hair was piercing and he found himself shivering violently before he'd finished reaching the carriages, he heard Rose laugh.

"Still think it's too hot?" Rose addressed him and Scorpius shook his head, it was half true. He felt cold. But hot too. He made to follow Rose in but was stopped, "Corin, Orous, Vern and I are in this one and it's already full. You'll have to get the next one."

"Okay," Scorpius nodded, almost collapsing as he stepped back out with a more violent fit of coughing overtaking him.

"You okay, mate?" Albus' voice offered and he felt his friend clap him on the back.

"Swallowed the wrong way," Scorpius croaked.

"You sure?" Michael's voice told him and Scorpius felt a hand pressed up against his forehead which was slick with sweat, "You're too hot."

"I'm fine," Scorpius coughed as he brushed it off, not wanting their return to be marred by him coming down with something.

"Oh my god, Albus, is that a hickey on your neck!?" Abby gasped and Scorpius tried to look up but felt too dizzy to see straight.

"Yes," Albus answered her proudly while Michael helped Scorpius into a carriage, "Grozda was _very_ happy to see me."

Being in a carriage helped, not having to stand eased his dizziness. He was still shivering and sweating, hot and cold wrestling inside him as if trying to decide which temperature he should feel. His cough was worsening as well, by the time they reached Hogwarts Abby and Albus' bickering conversation – that Maurice chose to ignore, not touching his necklace – had been drowned out by his coughing. His mouth, throat and chest were all feeling so raw they hurt as the five of them climbed back out of the carriage into the night. With that returned his dizziness along with the urge to throw up and he felt a strong hand grab his arm, he tried to turn to see who but the world spun well out of control and the hand steadied him.

"You're coming to see Marigold, right now," Michael told him gruffly, apparently the owner of the hand. Scorpius walked mechanically, allowing himself to be led into the light. He gave up seeing with his own eyes, everything was spinning so badly he had no clue.

"But I wanna see the Sorting," Scorpius complained in a hoarse rasp, he was curious where Martha and Auriga would go. He didn't care about the food though, he felt nauseous and weak, "During the feast."

"You can see it after you see Marigold, you need medical attention."

"Yes, Mother," Scorpius tried to quip sarcastically but getting the words out was difficult, they stuck in his throat and hindering air from reaching his lungs as he needed to start gasping for breath while his heart was pounding in his ears. He was so tired, his trembling feet so heavy, "Michael…"

Scorpius felt his body collapse, Michael and - probably – Albus tried to keep him walking but he couldn't take another step, he was too busy trying to breathe. Instead they laid him on the ground on his back which again quelled the dizziness, he saw a flash of purple light and recognized Michael's wand over him. He could see his friends' faces, he tried to stay focused on them as another violent fit of coughing kept him from passing out.

"What's wrong with him?!" Albus demanded as Scorpius' body started shivering more violently, he could feel sweat rolling off him in waves.

"His organs are failing," Michael told him, looking horrified while Scorpius just tried to breathe, "He's dying."

"Do something!" Abby shrieked as another light shone over him, Scorpius continued to shake helplessly. He felt as if he was drowning in his own sweat, he couldn't breathe.

"I-I can't!" Michael shot back, sounding horrified now, "He's been poisoned and until it's neutralized, I can't do anything!"

"It's not that far to Marigold, we-"

"He won't make it to Marigold! It's acting too quickly!"

"Save him, Michael!" Albus yelled, sounding on the verge of tears, "Don't you let him die, don't you dare!"

"This isn't helping!" Orous snapped, he sounded like he was crying but the world was too blurry to see.

He felt like his body was burning from the inside out as he drowned on the outside from icy water, he wanted to scream but his throat couldn't even let him breath let alone do that. Was this really it? Was he going to die? But… But he'd just been fine. He'd just been fine, he'd just had a good summer and he'd been fine. He hadn't stopped the Shadows yet, he still needed to stop the Shadows, he had to make things right. He hadn't even said goodbye. He didn't want to die.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What's happening?" Maurice questioned quite calmly.

"Maurice!"

"Move!" an unfamiliar adult voice barked in an unusual accent, "You all block the corridor, move out of my way! Is there not rules about this?"

"My friend's dying!" Albus' voice cried, he sounded like he was sobbing now.

"Oh do not be so overdramatized," the newcomer complained before apparently catching sight of him, "Or maybe you are not. Move!"

Scorpius heard a scuffling of feet and became aware of someone crouching beside him as his body arched painfully, his eyes rolling back into his skull and his scream silenced before it could leave his throat. He felt himself violently falling back, his feeble gasps for breath weakening. He felt something tearing at the clothing on his chest, freaking him out as he could only think of the muggles. He lashed out randomly and felt his fist hit something that muttered in a different language, it sounded like curses.

"Be calm. Do not hit me or I shall not save your life," the newcomer complained.

His arms forced to the ground magically and held there, he couldn't fight back as his chest was exposed to the air. He felt suddenly very afraid. Where his friends still there? Weren't they helping him? Was this a dream? A nightmare? He felt something thin and sharp touch his bare chest, a stick? A wand? He could feel it gliding over his skin, every mark sending a chill through him. He could hear alien muttering again, this time quieter and calmer, more like chanting rather than cursing.

"What are you even doing to him?" a voice that sounded like Rose's asked as he felt the stick leave him yet he was still very are of where the marks were, even as he could feel himself drifting.

"Everyone who is not me, be silent," the accented newcomer snapped and in the next instant, Scorpius felt something poured onto his chest.

He felt it crawling over the invisible lines left by the wand and the muttering returned, there was a sharp pain as the liquid seemed to slice into him. He couldn't scream but he felt it, he could feel the liquid moving around inside him, feel it running through his veins. It was not pleasant, it was like ice melting and making his blood run cold. So cold it hurt, so cold he almost didn't notice he was breathing again. Then it felt it retreating back, congregating in his chest again before it erupted out.

Scorpius screamed as he felt it rip back out of his chest, his body lurched and his eyes snapped back. He collapsed back onto the ground, breathing heavily and staring up at stars in the air despite the fact he was in Hogwarts and it wasn't the enchanted ceiling. The stars were not stars and clumped together back into a lump of liquid, shifting above him before it moved out of sight. His eyes would've followed it but he felt too weak to move, he just wanted to lie there and breathe for a minute.

"Sc-Scor, are you okay?" Albus' voice asked.

"I'm alive," Scorpius said slowly as this fact dawned on him too, relief washing over him.

"Great, now then the world can rejoice," the accented newcomer quipped sarcastically and Scorpius felt someone grab his hand to haul him to his feet, "Now get up."

"I'm still not feeling great," Scorpius admitted shakily as he stood on unsteady legs, still with the man's support.

"That is why you get up, you need to heal. Come on now," the newcomer insisted and Scorpius felt himself being led only to stop again, Scorpius could only stare at the ground as his stomach churned inside, "No. Everyone else, goodbye."

"But he's our friend," Michael's voice protested.

"I don't care, it is possible to walk to the Hospital Room without friends. Buh-bye now," the newcomer brushed it off and Scorpius swore he could hear him rolling his eyes, "And move! Are you English allergic to moving or what? Thank you!"

Scorpius felt himself being led again, he heard his friends offer their assurances of seeing him later and a scuffling of feet. By the sounds of it, a small crowd might've gathered to see his… episode. The sounds died away and then it was just him being led by his savior, at first he thought he was just going at a slow pace purely for Scorpius' sake but the sound of the man's footsteps were very uneven. With his eyes on the ground, Scorpius realized why. The man walked with an extremely severe limp, so bad it made Latimer look like a champion runner. Scorpius wondered why, then realized he was focused on a limp instead of the fact he'd almost died just moments ago.

"So I… I was poisoned?" Scorpius wondered, recalling the conversation.

"Yes," the man told him disinterestedly.

"Who tried to poison me?"

"I don't know, I was just trying to get food to eat when everyone is blocking the way because you are dying," the man explained, sounding almost annoyed by it, "I have no idea who you are, why would I know who tries to kill you?"

"I'm Scorpius. Scorpius Malfoy," Scorpius introduced himself.

"I will not know who tries to kill you from knowing your name," the man insisted and Scorpius thought he rolled his eyes again, "I know it was not me and that is all."

"Okay well then… What-What did you do? I thought I was going to die, I heard my friend say it."

"I put the liquid in you, the liquid bonds with the poison then I draw the liquid out, it takes the poison with it and stops it from further killing you," the man explained, "It undid some of the damage it was causing at the time but you still feel bad because it cannot heal the damage already wrought, that is why you need to heal still."

"And you just carry some of that poison-saving stuff around with you all the time?" Scorpius wondered curiously and the man gave an annoyed grunt.

"It has other uses then stopping poison," the man insisted as they came to a halt, "And this is your stop, Scorpius Malfoy."

Scorpius risked raising his head and saw that sure enough, they had reached the Hospital Wing. He turned back to his savior, opening his mouth to thank but froze when he saw his face. He was of average height with dark chestnut eyes and extremely dark auburn hair that looked to have dulled with age but was still thick, devoid of grays and wavier then any Ashain. For a second he had a vivid flashback of a memory, Ashylos' memory of his death and the young son. He was a small boy no longer, he could pass for Professor Ashain's brother. He was also no longer smiling and didn't look like it was a common occurrence, his expression was grim and his eyes were tired, his face worn. Still, Scorpius had no doubt he'd just been saved by Ashylos' last son. With a wave of soul-crushing guilt he saw the innocent young boy again, he'd saved his life _after_ Scorpius had destroyed his father's soul.

"Tell the Healer what occurred and he will see to you, Scorpius Malfoy," Ashylos' son told him obliviously before turning to leave, "Try not to get poisoned again."

"Wh-Where are you going?" Scorpius called after as he limped away.

"To get food, I told you. Unless someone other is dying in the way."


	7. VI: Guilt Trips

_**Thanks to:** Colin Creevey and Lucifersdaughter for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_So... Trolley lady Imperiused. Or is Florian taking Polyjuice?_**  
><em>I can't say<em>

**_ So Ly wasnt raped then?_**  
><em>Nope<em>

* * *

><p>"Agnes, I need to go out for a while," Crystal Sanford told her daughter seriously as she pulled out the pitifully few notes she had in her purse to give to her, almost surprised Agnes couldn't hear her thundering heart or the panic screaming in her ears, "Here's some money. Don't answer the door, don't answer the phone and if anyone comes for you then take your brother and sister out the backdoor. Go straight to the train station, get to London and go to the Leaky Cauldron because that's where I'll be."<p>

"Why are you going to the Leaky Cauldron?" Agnes asked as she cautiously took the notes, looking very much like she was aware more was going on.

"Because I need to go to Diagon Alley. Do you understand what I told you?"

"Yes," Agnes confirmed as she pushed the notes into her pocket.

"Use what's there to feed the three of you lunch, dinner too if I'm not back by then. Make sure Ivy and Flynn are in bed on time, teeth brushed and that they haven't destroyed the house. Leave the lights off and close all the curtains as soon as I leave, do you understand?" Crystal continued, hoping she'd covered everything. That last thing she wanted was for something else to happen to her children while she was gone.

"Yes."

"That's my girl," Crystal told her with as much of a smile as she could muster as she hugged her daughter tightly, she was lucky to have such good children, "Stay safe."

"Where's Bertie?" Agnes asked in a whisper as she pulled away as if afraid to ask.

"That's why I'm going to Diagon Alley, to find him," Crystal assured her and saw a flicker of fear in her daughter's good eye, Bob's eye, "Just tell the others he's with me because he should be. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Crystal left her daughter without another word, not wanting to waste any more time as she got in her car and drove off. She truly did have no idea where Jack was, she hadn't seen him since he'd revealed what he'd done and she had no way of finding him. His apartment was rented to someone else now since he'd taken off and stopped paying rent, she'd tried his phone and a random man had answered, apparently he'd found it in the trash. Normally it might sound strange but Jack throwing his phone away after leaving them sounded perfectly plausible, he hadn't needed it after all. Considering what he'd said, she doubted Annie knew and had no idea where she was either. Her only hope was that there was some magical way to find someone, hence why she was headed to Diagon Alley. If Jack had meant what he said then he should be open to helping her get her son back and if he had… had lost himself then she had no trouble with handing him over to save her son, she had no idea what the man wanted with Jack anyway. Honestly, she didn't care. Saving Bertie was all that mattered right now.

_He wouldn't need to be saved if you weren't such a terrible mother!_ Bob's voice snapped in her mind and she flinched as she felt tears prick her eyes again, _How could you let this happen?! How could you let our child be taken?! How could you let that psycho take my son?! _

Crystal wiped at her eyes, as much as she would love to break down crying, she had to save her son. She had to at least try, she'd do everything in her power to. And driving to Diagon Alley was more productive then crying on the kitchen floor, she'd have plenty of time to cry after she'd exhausted all options.

_Oh, you mean when he's sending Bertie back in little pieces?!_ Bob's voice barked and she choked on a sob as she recalled the psycho's threat, _This would never happen if I was alive, I warned you everything would go wrong without me because you're a complete failure. This is your fault, Crystal, this is all your fault. If you weren't such a stupid slut then he wouldn't even think you know where Jack is. You're so stupid, weak and stupid._

"I know I am," Crystal muttered in agreement, wiping her eyes again as she pulled the car to a halt.

_And pathetic_, Bob's voice spat as she got out, fumbling to lock the car before heading into the magical pub, _Don't forget pathetic. I'm freaking dead but you're still scared of me, you still can't escape me. What is wrong with you?! No one else fears dead people, you fucking idiot! Every decision you make is bad, everything you do is stupid. It's no wonder Michael hates you_

Crystal tried to ignore it as she headed out into the courtyard where the Aurors were waiting, they searched and scanned everyone going in or out. She let them do it despite her discomfort with it all, answering their questions politely and pleasantly. They didn't seem to suspect anything, putting a brave face on might be one thing she didn't completely fail at. The voice was right though, she was pathetic and Michael did hate her. He avoided her these days, spending all his time in his room and staying away, if she spoke to him than he was always short with her and distant. He was upset and angry, her sweet little boy was gone. Not that she blamed him, Michael had every right to hate her and be upset with how his life was. She'd failed him probably worst of all.

_You did fail him the worst_, Bob agreed as the Aurors finished up and let her through, _You failed to even put a roof over his head, you failed him on a basic level, you failed to give him a stable environment, you failed to protect him from Robin, you failed to protect him from me, you failed to protect him from bullying and all the crap he goes through in Hogwarts. You're not doing much better with the little ones, you failed to protect them from being scarred for life by the werewolf and now you let that bloody psychopath take your baby boy! _

Crystal couldn't disagree and could only try put it out of her mind as she flitted around Diagon Alley, asking for a way of finding someone. She was disappointed to be having no luck, she'd been hoping for a magical solution but the best they seemed to offer was good luck charms and the magical version of a private investigator. If the man was after Jack and had come to them then she was sure he'd probably searched himself first, somehow she doubted another wizard would have any better luck, especially not in time for her son to be returned… intact. She wasn't sure she could afford that anyway, she was still struggling to make ends meet and buying school supplies had really cleaned her out.

_You really are a worthless failure, you stupid whore, _Bob's voice spat into her ear, _Every other mother in the world seems perfectly capable of providing for her children. And not letting them be destroyed physically, mentally and abducted. You can't protect them, heck, you can't even protect yourself_

Someone suggested she try Knockturn Alley though for some less commonplace solutions, she didn't see why not. Anything was better than nothing at that point. She located the alley and found it less impressive then Diagon, the buildings looked shabbier and it was darker. The people seemed darker too, most she passed where in dark cloaks and many seemed to be trying to cover their faces as if hiding they were there. The faces she did see didn't seem friendly either, glaring eyes and lips curled in sneers, murderous expressions through her way. It all made her very nervous, still she'd have to start asking them about finding someone too. She stopped outside of a "Borgin and Burkes" near a group of cloaked figures whispering amongst themselves, trying to decide which of the run-down buildings was a good place to start. Maybe she should just start here?

Before she could even turn back to the door, a hand grabbed her arm roughly and she tried to scream as fear stabbed through her heart but she couldn't. The world around her went back and she felt as if she was being forced through a tube, abruptly she found herself back in another alley and lurched as if to throw up. The hand steadied her and nothing came out, there was nothing to come out as she'd had to skip a few meals lately to make sure her kids were well fed. The wave of nausea passed and she remembered her situation, she pulled herself away from her attacker fearfully and surprised he didn't try stop her. He was a man with a course, lined face that looked so worn she wondered if he'd ever slept, his hair was brown and his eyes cerulean blue. He was dressed rather scruffily and like a muggle, his clothes were stained in dirt.

"Wh-What did you do to me?" Crystal tried to snap but it came out more as a fearful stutter, her fear starting to increase. He didn't look friendly.

"Saved your life, Bambi, so you can relax," the man offered darkly, "Knockturn Alley is not for muggles."

"H-How did you know I'm a muggle?"

"You make it so obvious, you're dressed like a muggle-"

"You're dressed like a muggle!"

"I can dress like a muggle because I have this," the man scoffed and yanked up his sleeve, showing a faded scar, a mark of a snake coming out of a skull's mouth, "You on the other hand, stick out like goat amongst sheep, so skittish and out of place. Stay away from there."

"I can't," Crystal admitted as the man pulled his sleeve back down, he rolled his eyes.

"Those people near you were just about to jump you, the only reason they hadn't yet is because they were arguing over how they should kill you," the man told her, looking unfazed while her heart skipped a beat, "The Ministry try to lessen the old prejudices but Knockturn Alley is where people with the old prejudices like to hang out, it's a dark place for dark people and dark magic. If you don't want to die then stay away and if you do want to die, there are better ways to kill yourself."

"But I have to go back," Crystal protested again, feeling her eyes tear up again, "It's my only chance, I need to find a way to find someone and I had no luck in Diagon Alley."

"Have you tried an owl?" the man wondered tiredly as he folded his arms.

"An owl?"

"They can find whoever the letter is intended for, unless the person put up magical defenses to avoid being found."

"Isn't that a bit slow?" Crystal questioned curiously as she bit her lip nervously.

"Depends where the person is and on the owl."

"Well what about if the person doesn't respond?"

"Put a tracking spell on the envelope, you can't use regular post owls for that though."

"My son took the owl with him to Hogwarts, I won't have it until he writes," Crystal pointed out unhappily and thought saw a flicker of grief in the man's eyes at the mention of the magical school, "_If_ he writes."

"I have an owl you can use," the man volunteered, "He's fast and well-trained."

"And you'd do that? Just let me use your owl?"

"No, but I'll_ give_ him to you then you can use your owl. You must take good care of him though."

"You'd just give me your owl for free?" Crystal wondered in surprise and the man shrugged.

"I have no use for him now and I don't care about money anymore, he's yours if you want."

"Will you do the tracking spell for me too?" Crystal asked, hardly daring to hope as she met the man's eyes.

"You realize it's illegal, right?" the man prompted and Crystal looked away for a moment, considering this and then considering her lost little boy.

"Will you do the tracking spell or not?" Crystal reiterated and the man cocked his head to one side for a second before nodding, "Thank you. You really have no idea-"

"I really don't care. Just hurry up," the man cut her off, already walking and she hastened to keep up.

"My name's Crystal by the-"

"You don't give people your name in Knockturn Alley, Bambi," the man interrupted yet again.

"We're not in Knockturn Alley," Crystal pointed out, quite truthfully as she realized she recognized the shops, "So what's your name?"

"John," the man admitted after a moment's hesitation, she was pretty sure it was fake though.

"Is that-"

"That _is_ my real name," the man insisted before she could even ask.

She fell silent and went with him, he insisted they go back through the checkpoint separately so no one would think they were together so she had to wait. It occurred to her that this could very well be a trap, he was from Knockturn Alley so he could very well be the one wanting her dead and luring her away. She also didn't turn away though, if it wasn't a trap then it was her best chance of finding Jack so she could save Bertie. She had to take the risk. She headed through after another person had gone after John as he'd instructed, exiting the Leaky Cauldron to find him waiting with a hulking, horned owl with black and white coloring and menacing yellow eyes. It squawked loudly.

"Here," John offered, handing her the cage along with a bag, "In there is the last supplies for him and some notes on caring for owls, there's also an envelope with a blank piece of paper in it. When you write your message, wear gloves and do not let the paper touch your flesh or it will track you not the person you're writing to. Send the message from your home so the owl will know that is where he should return to. Do you understand?"

"Y-Yes," Crystal agreed uncertainly, surprised at how quickly it happened.

She opened her mouth to thank him and ask the owl's name but he disappeared with a sound like a thunderclap. Well… That was that. She bundled the owl into the car along with the bag and headed back, she'd write the letter and send it off as soon as she got home. Hopefully, Jack would be close enough for the owl to reach him soon. Crystal made it back home and carried the owl back into the kitchen, she was surprised to notice a small box on the kitchen table. She walked over, wondering whether one of the kids had left it or stupidly if John had put it there for the owl or something.

Crystal opened the box and screamed at its contents, almost dropping it and passing out in one breath. Her shaking legs gave way and she staggered back, slumping to the ground as sobs escaped her. It was a finger. A bloody, severed little finger. A four year old's little finger. Bertie's.

* * *

><p>Scorpius still felt his head spinning and not from the poison as he went in to speak to the Hogwarts Head Healer, Marigold. He was a tall, thin man and looking rather odd with his hair half-white and half-black where he apparently had decided to abandon dying it but wait for it to grow out anyway. He grumbled a lot but Scorpius thought he had proved himself a good person, he'd lost a finger resisting when tortured for a way into Hogwarts too. Scorpius let himself be fussed over by Marigold, magicked and dosed with potions but he was paying little attention, instead letting his mind wonder to Ashylos.<p>

_"…Did I ever tell you how I died?"_

_"No."_

_"It was during Grindelwald's early uprising, I was living in Europe at the time with my son, Rojer. The boy was seven, like I mentioned his mother died and I was raising him alone…"_

"Scorpius?!" Marigold barked, snapping Scorpius back to reality.

"What?" Scorpius wondered tiredly.

"I asked you if you've had anything to eat or drink today."

"Oh right, just breakfast and a Pumpkin Pasty on the train. Why?"

"Trying to figure out how you were poisoned," Marigold offered and pushed him gently back down with one hand while summoning a bottle of some potion with his wand with another, "I didn't say I was done, I'd like you to stay here for observation for a bit and I'll need to speak to Vipera. This should give you a good night's rest, give your body a chance to recover."

"I don't want to go to sleep," Scorpius complained as he kind of wanted to see the Sorting but drank the liquid after seeing the stern gaze on Marigold's face, he'd barely moved the flask away from his lips when he felt his eyelids becoming heavy.

_"What happened to your son?" Scorpius recalled asking the spirit._

_"I do not know. After death I was imprisoned wholly in the Scepter, I had and still have no way of knowing what became of him. He probably is dead. I had hopes of finding him or at least finding his fate after the Scepter business was dealt with, when I revived. Odds are I will never know now…"_

Scorpius was surprised to open his eyes and find it was the morning, he'd expected an uneasy sleep or at least dreams but got nothing. He was feeling physically better though, much stronger. Mentally though, the guilt hit him with the force of a speeding train. For what he'd done to Ashylos, for what he'd done to Rojer. Images of the happy child still overlapping the unhappy limping man, he didn't deserve to have had his life saved by the son of a man he'd killed. Or rather destroyed the soul of. A good man. Who'd helped defeat one of the most infamous Dark Wizards of all time, who'd been willing to sacrifice himself to save Professor Ashain, who'd been so brave in the face of utter destruction. And his son had saved him after that, after what he'd done. He felt sick with himself.

Marigold let him go that morning, it was Sunday so it didn't really matter as they'd not be starting classes until tomorrow. He trudged down to the Great Hall in misery, his feet finding the way even though his mind was occupied which he took to mean that his subconscious had a good grasp of the place even after having been away for the few months of summer. He spotted his clump of friends at the end of the Gryffindor table, they always needed to sit at the end near the teachers due to Maurice's deafness and needing to be close to translate announcements. They looked incredibly relieved to see him, Albus even hugged him.

"Don't ever scare us like that again, mate," Albus said seriously as he pulled away, clapping him on the shoulder as he did so, "W-"

"You'll never believe what I found out," Scorpius cut him off and they all leaned in to listen as he dropped his voice, "The guy who saved me, he was Rojer."

This didn't have the impact he'd hoped for though, they all stared at him blankly.

"You know, Ashylos' _son_," Scorpius emphasized, "The one who was a child when he died that I saw when he showed me the memory of his death."

"Ah damn, _that_ Rojer," Albus quipped sarcastically and slapped his leg in mock frustration, "We should totally have remembered that guy that _only you_ _saw!_"

"Yeah," Abby laughed but quickly stopped herself.

"I'm serious," Scorpius protested, "He's Ashylos' son."

"Did he tell you that?" Rose asked with an eyebrow rising.

"No but I recognize him and when I told Marigold that Rojer saved me, he seemed to know who I was talking about."

"Hehe, _Marigold_," Albus chuckled to himself.

"I'm serious!"

"Well maybe it's not Ashylos' son, Rojer is just one of those common wizard names," Rose offered with a half-shrug.

"He does have the Ashain features though," Maurice pointed out, much to Scorpius' relief, "They're pretty distinctive and strong standing."

"Thank you," Scorpius said with relief as he sighed, "He's Ashylos' son, I'm sure of it."

"And so what if he is who you think is?" Albus wondered and Scorpius could only gape at him, "He doesn't seem to know or care what you did to his Father, what does it matter?"

"It matters! I _killed_ his Father," Scorpius protested, dropping his voice again as he felt the guilt churning into his gut again, "I destroyed his soul."

"You, and Antonius, and Brutus," Corin reminded unhelpfully.

"Don't you think there are more important issues to worry about right now?" Michael asked of him, speaking for the first time and looking the most anxious.

"Like what?" Scorpius complained and Michael looked incredulous, as did most of his friends.

"Like who tried to kill you!" Michael snapped at him angrily, "You nearly died, don't you get that? You would have _died_ if that guy hadn't walked in and done his voodoo magic, there was nothing I could do, nothing any of us could do."

"Oh, who cares about that?" Scorpius brushed it off dismissively, "There's a war going on, people are always trying to kill me. Rojer is the thing to worry about here, what am I supposed to do?"

"Nothing," Albus insisted.

"Why would you need to do anything?" Maurice wondered and Scorpius felt like slapping his face in exasperation, why was he the only one who could see how big a deal this was?

"Because I _killed_ his Father," Scorpius protested as the guilt prodded at the tears in his eyes, "I took away his only parent and then he turns around and saves_ my_ life. I need to apologize and make it up to him, tell him the truth."

"You saw this kid when Ashylos showed you his physical death, right?"

"Right."

"And Ashylos was killed by Grindelwald's men a few decades ago, right?"

"Right."

"So what does it matter if you destroyed his soul? Rojer had already lost his Father decades before you wiped out his soul, you didn't take his Father from him," Maurice pointed out quite rationally, "Rojer was an adult long before you were even born, your actions had no effect on him so you really have nothing to obsess over or any point in mentioning it to him. It doesn't matter. Your assassination attempt on the other hand…"

"I don't care about that! This Rojer thing is serious, how am I supposed to face him in class?"

"He's not a teacher," Corin told him, much to Scorpius' confusion, "He wasn't at the staff table or introduced or mentioned, reckon he's the new assistant to replace Calderon."

"So did they find out anything about the poison?" Abby pressed, apparently everyone but him determined to gloss over this majorly important thing, "Did Marigold say anything?"

"I didn't ask," Scorpius admitted glumly as he went to put food on his plate for breakfast.

"Well why not?" Albus complained.

"I told you because I don't care! I'm more worried about this Rojer thing," Scorpius insisted and paused despite himself, how did he know his food wasn't poisoned?

"No, you're just on a guilt trip about Ashylos," Michael prompted and looked between him and his plate, "Aren't you going to eat?"

"Not hungry for more potential death."

"Alright," Michael nodded and switched plates with him just like he'd done back in their First Year when Scorpius hadn't wanted to eat, "There, mine is half-eaten and I'm not dead yet so it's not poisoned. Or its slow acting, then we're both dead. So eat up."

"Thanks," Scorpius offered and smiled despite everything as he looked at his friend, a sliver of the old Michael that made him all the more determined to help him.


	8. VI: Scheduling In

_**Thanks to:** Colin Creevey and Cal for reviewing!_

_**Author's Note:** Sorry for the delay, the site was having issues so I couldn't do anything_

**_Questions:_**

**_Interesting seeing John. Lenore's Uncle, right? _**  
><em>Yep<em>

* * *

><p>Crystal was a nervous wreck, she couldn't sleep, she couldn't eat - if she tried, she just threw it back up as soon as Bertie's limbs crossed her mind - and she'd been sent home from work because she was so unfocused she was all but useless. She didn't blame them, her mind felt paralyzed and thoughts had to make it through the thoughts of Bertie clogging her head and the deafening beat of her heart. His finger had come Saturday, his ear had come Sunday and a toe on Monday. She put them in ice and kept them in the freezer, hoping - likely and stupidly in vain - he'd be returned in time that they could be reattached.<p>

She didn't know how they got there, she would just return to the kitchen and find it there on the table. On the inside of each lid was an address to send Jack to when she found him, unfortunately she hadn't heard back from Jack or the owl yet. She almost broke down crying as she picked other three to school that day, it should have been Bertie's first day. The fact the others were starting to ask more questions didn't help either, she was glad when it was their bedtime finally. Then she could just sit anxiously in the kitchen, staring out the window waiting for John's owl to return or Jack to show up or.. something.

"Crystal Sanford, is it?" a voice questioned and she jumped about a foot in the air, spinning to see more strange people in the kitchen.

There was a teenage girl with red hair, freckles and muddy brown eyes accompanied the speaker, a man in his forties with steely gray eyes and messy dark brown hair spattered with grays. He had a vivid scar across his face, running diagonally from the right side of his forehead above the eye straight through to the far side of his left cheek. Did they work for the red-haired man?

"I don't know where Jack is!" Crystal blurted out desperately, why was that so hard to believe?! The man struck her - hard - and she fell back into the chair with her eye now stinging and fear filling her yet again as memories of Bob flashed in her mind, he flicked his wand and the arm rests wrapped themselves around her wrists to keep her in place.

"We're not looking for Jack Thorne," the man growled as he stepped forwards, the girl stood watching blankly, "We're looking for Pyrrhus Florian."

"Who?" Crystal wondered in confusion and the man struck her again.

"_Pyrrhus Florian_," the man repeated more slowly and clearly, as if that would make her suddenly know it.

"I still don't know who that is!"

The man jabbed his wand at her and there was a flash of red then Crystal felt pain shooting through her, every fiber of her being felt as if thousands of red hot drills were boring into her body. She could hear herself screaming and her bound body trying to writhe against the pain.

"Stop!" a girl's voice cried abruptly and the pain stopped, receding waves still washing over her and her body shook against her will. She saw it was the teenager who'd spoken, she felt a flicker of hope the girl might not be so bad.

"You wanted to be a witch, if you want to learn magic from us then you better stop being so soft," the man informed her with a smirk.

"I'm not being soft, Selwyn," the girl scoffed, stepping forwards and folding her arms as if offended, "I feed of pain now, remember? She was in more pain when you hit her, physical _and_ emotional pain. It tastes juicier if you beat on her, you'll get more information that way too."

"I don't know who Pyrrhus Florian is!" Crystal cried and the man she'd called Selwyn lashed out at her again and again, she tasted blood in her mouth after the first blow and memories of Bob blinded her vision.

"And just to be clear," the girl interrupted and Selwyn stopped, Crystal tried to look through bleary eyes trying to swell shut to see the girl throw him a dark look, "I didn't say to stop beating her, I'm hungry."

"I don't take orders from you, they hear better this way," Selwyn insisted.

"Pyrrhus Florian is a youngish kind of guy, lanky and nutty with red hair - darker shade then mine - and purple eyes. Do you know who _that_ guy is?"

"Yes," Crystal confirmed, trying not to nod but her throbbing head objected, "H-He was here. He was looking for Jack."

"Why?" Selwyn demanded.

"I don't know why," Crystal offered and he hit her again, she saw stars as her head hit the back of the chair, "I don't know why! He didn't say! He just wanted to find him and thought I knew, h-he took my-my son. My li-little boy, s-said he'd send him b-back in pieces if I d-didn't find him."

"And you don't know where Jack is," Selwyn mused as she'd said as much earlier, the girl started checking the fridge and freezer.

"She's right, there's body parts," the girl confirmed, looking visibly upset as she closed the door, "That's horrible."

"But effective. I bet you're trying to find Jack for him now, aren't you?"

"Y-Yes," Crystal stammered out, just as Ivy ran into the kitchen.

"Can I have a glass of water, pl-" Ivy froze as she saw the strangers, fear filling her little face.

"Run, Ivy!" Crystal screamed at her and Ivy turned on her heel to do so.

"Stop if you don't want me to hurt your Mummy," Selwyn offered with another punch and Ivy froze immediately, "You don't want me to hurt your Mummy, do you?"

"No," Ivy whimpered and turned back, tears in her eyes. Crystal opened her mouth to insist she run but Selwyn clamped his hand over her mouth to silence her, "Please, don't hurt my Mummy."

"Then do as I say and come here," Selwyn commanded and Ivy walked over obediently, he let go of Crystal's mouth to take Ivy's hand, "Now... Ivy, was it?"

"Yes."

"Ivy is going to come with us for a little bit," Selwyn told her as he walked back over to the teenager, he flicked his wand and the chair let Crystal go, "If you want her back whole then find us Pyrrhus Florian, we'll check in daily."

"NO!" Crystal screamed desperately, jumping up uselessly but the girl put her hand on Selwyn's shoulder and the three vanished into the darkness. She sunk to the ground where they'd just been, sobbing.

_Fuck's sake_, Bob's voice spat in her mind and she flinched violently in terror, stupidly expecting him to be there to continue beating her or worse, _Can't you do anything right?! Now you've lost two of them!_

* * *

><p>Scorpius spent most of the Saturday 'relaxing' - he shut up about it but inwardly the guilt gnawed at him - because his friends seemed determined to keep an eye on him - although he did use this to his advantage to let Michael search his trunk for alcohol, thankfully he found none - after his poisoning, the rest of the time he spent practicing his animagi training. He transformed somehow every try without fail now, not completely yet but something was always happening which was both more tiring, sometimes painful and a good sign he was closer. He fell asleep to strange nightmares he could only half-remember regarding Ashylos and Rojer, waking early and in a sweat. He was the only one up although Michael's bed was empty, murky orange light filtered in through the curtains.<p>

He decided to just go ahead and get up, not even wanting to attempt trying to get back to sleep with more nightmares. He'd just have to try put it out of his mind. He got washed and dressed, finding it a strange feeling to have to pin his Captain badge onto his robes. Especially since he was so used to seeing it on Molly, he was the Captain now though. He pulled out the Map - the Marauder's Map, that was - which showed where most people were in Hogwarts, checking Michael's location and found him already in the Great Hall as expected. He also couldn't help but scan for a different name and found a dot labelled simply 'Rojer' in one of the disused towers, about as far removed from anyone else as one could be in Hogwarts. He supposed it made sense, Ashylos hadn't seemed to have a last name and must not have given Rojer one. It only further nailed in that he really _was_ Ashylos' son. Sighing unhappily, he put the map away and headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Scorpius?" a small voice questioned just as he was about to enter the Great Hall. He turned to see it was Martha, the girl from the train who was now adorned in Hufflepuff robes.

"Hi Martha," Scorpius greeted her pleasantly and mustered a smile, "How's things?"

"Well, I made Hufflepuff," Martha offered nervously, gesturing to her robes, "Did not expect _that_ but erm... it's alright, the Common Room is pretty neat and Auriga says it doesn't matter that she's in Ravenclaw, we can still be friends."

"Of course you can be friends with other houses, I have friends in Hufflepuff in fact," Scorpius assured her and she looked a bit more at ease, "Vern Dursley, the Hufflepuff Prefect is one of them even. He's a decent guy so if you need anything then he's someone who'd be happy to help."

"Thanks, he seemed pretty nice," Martha nodded and returned his smile for a second before worry crept back in, "Are you okay? I-I heard you were poisoned or something?"

"I was but its okay, I'm okay now. Someone saved me."

"That was lucky. It's scary to think you might've died so suddenly, you seemed fine before."

"Well these things happen but the important thing is that it's over and no one got hurt," Scorpius brushed it off.

"Did they find out who did it?"

"No."

"Then it might not be over," Martha protested anxiously, "What if they try to kill you again? Or what if they try to kill someone else?"

"Then we'll catch them," Scorpius reassured her as her large, cloudy gray eyes focused on him worriedly, "Hogwarts is pretty safe. Now we're here, it'll be harder for anyone to get to me or you or anyone else. The staff aren't going to let anything happen, Martha, please try not to worry about it."

"I'll try," Martha agreed as she took a deep breathe, Scorpius patted her on the shoulder gently and tried to give a reassuring smile that she somewhat returned.

"So are you looking forward to your classes tod-"

"Hey Martha!" a vaguely familiar voice called and Scorpius glanced to see Auriga Koray rushing over on her way into the Great Hall as well, she came to a halt and noticed him with her expression switching to concern, "Hi Scorpius, how are you doing?"

"Alright," Scorpius assured her and Auriga smiled at this.

"Good. My Father says they're trying to find out the person who did it so don't worry, my Mother is Deputy Head of the Department of Law Enforcement and she will make sure justice is served."

"I'm sure she will," Scorpius nodded along in agreement, "Good luck with your classes both of you."

The girls chorused their thanks and they went their separate ways, Scorpius joining Michael at the Gryffindor table. He was still trying to get used to the beard, it had only taken him all of last year to get used to the height and voice. Michael paused when he joined him, only going back to his own food when Scorpius started pulling some food onto his own plate.

"You okay?" Scorpius wondered of his friend and Michael gave a semi-shrug.

"You almost died. You may not care about that but I do," Michael pointed out seriously, dropping his head onto his palm, "I need a drink."

"You need to _not_ drink," Scorpius insisted determinedly, "You know, Annie's doing great sober."

"Well good for Annie," Michael offered and scratched at his beard with his free hand, "Still feels weird to have this."

"Then why not shave it off?" Scorpius wondered and to his surprise, Michael's face reddened in embarrassment which made him seem immediately younger.

"I don't know _how_," Michael admitted under his breath.

"Why didn't you ask..."

"Who?" Michael scoffed incredulously, "My_ mother_? My little siblings who haven't even hit puberty yet? There's not exactly an abundance of options."

"Hey guys!" Albus called cheerfully as he plopped himself down beside them, effectively ending their conversation as he starting piling his plate high, "What's up?"

"Nothing."

"Eating breakfast," Scorpius added and Albus nodded vaguely as he started drowning his mountain of food in ketchup.

"You seem glum today," Albus commented to Michael who gave another semi-shrug, "Do you know what you need?"

"A drink?" Michael guessed and ignored the venomous look Scorpius threw him.

"A girlfriend," Albus corrected to which Michael rolled his eyes, "I'm serious! Michael, it would change your life and cheer you right up. You'd be drunk on love! I used to feel hopeless too and then I met the future Mrs Potter, if it could happen for me then it can happen for you."

"I don't want a girlfriend. I'm _sixteen_ and I'm a werewolf."

"Nonsense. Werewolves are just as entitled to love as the rest of us and it is my mission this year to get you a girlfriend."

"I don't _want_ a girlfriend, Albus," Michael insisted seriously with a hint of irritation as Albus shoveled a forkful of food into his mouth, he opened his mouth to reply, "And don't you dare speak with your mouth full!"

Michael remained vehemently opposed while Albus seemed convinced it would help his friend, thankfully the arrival of the others seemed to put an end to the conversation. For once Rose's... loudness seemed to come in useful as it changed the topic to what she wanted to talk about, NEWT classes. Scorpius was actually looking forward to it, he was distracted by a small body though.

"Scor!" Cassia exclaimed as she threw her arms around him, he barely had time to register his surprise before the now apparently green-haired child let him go to glare angrily as she folded her arms, "What the bloody hell were you thinking?! You get poisoned and then don't bother seeing me and Antonius so we'd know you got better okay? Aren't we still friends?"

"I'm sorry, I was just... busy," Scorpius offered lamely, surprised at her reaction.

"Busy with what, your day off?" Cassia wondered and Albus chuckled, Scorpius threw him a dark look.

"What?" Albus complained, quickly swallowing first to avoid another reprimand from Michael, "Kid's got a point."

"Damn straight, I got a point. Antonius was worried sick."

"Well I'm sorry, I didn't think," Scorpius admitted and Cassia shrugged, her rage over as soon as it began.

"Well use your brain next time, jerkface," Cassia told him and turned to leave but Scorpius grabbed her back as something occurred to him.

"Cassia, wait!"

"I'm sorry I called you a jerkface, if I didn't like you and was really mad then I'd have called you worse," Cassia pointed out immediately, "Like actual worse. Aurors have worse mouths then teenagers."

"I don't mind about tha- The Aurors are still patrolling the grounds?" Scorpius changed his sentence halfway through and the girl nodded, on one hand he supposed it was good but on the other he felt a pang of disappointment considering the Shadows, "Can you tell me anything about them?"

"Erm... They keep mostly outside patrolling the grounds but some of them are chattier, Syntyche Cistro is in charge of them," Cassia recounted thoughtfully as she scratched her chin, "She's a bitch. Daddy hates her and she hates Daddy. She hates us too and she hates birds, doesn't like us interfearancing with her Aurors and thinks we stole a wand holster for no good reason."

"What about the other new staff then?"

"The new Headmaster is Laurence Winthrop, some Ministry stiff who worked in the Department of Education. We call him Weedy Larry because he looks like a weed and pops up like one too."

"Cassia, you should some respect for your elders!" Rose snapped at her.

"What?" Cassia complained as she crossed her arms again, "I have respect, people just have to deserve it. If you treated all-growed ups with respect then you'd have to treat Shadows with respect and they don't deserve and neither does Weedy Larry! Or Syn the evil bitch."

"And someone should wash your mouth out with soap for your language!"

"Hey, I think my English language is pretty fucking great thank you very much."

"Moving on, who else is new?" Scorpius interjected.

"Penny Durante is the Transfiguration Professor, she's so nice and sweet and lovely," Cassia told them, brightening up, "And be nice to her, this is her very first time teaching and she's a bit nervous but she is super talented and good. She was practicing on us."

"She's hot too," Albus commented with a wink in Michael's direction, the werewolf rolled his eyes.

"And then there's the new Caretaker, Grace Warren, who is mega grumpy so I'd stay the hell away from her if I was you."

"What about Rojer?" Scorpius questioned curiously.

"I'm not sure about him," Cassia admitted thoughtfully, "He likes to stay by himself and can be grumpy too but he's nicer to me and Antonius if we're alone, I think he just doesn't like people very much and Avaris thinks he's just scared of them because people can be scary. He saved your life though, oh and you'll never guess what."

"What?" Albus wondered curiously and Cassia looked around as if to make sure no one was listening before leaning in closer and dropping her voice.

"He can talk to birds too," Cassia told them in a whisper, "He pretends not to but the birds know he can hear them."

"Cassia, why don't you go sit with your Father?" a new voice offered and Scorpius nearly jumped as he noticed Professor Longbottom had come up to them. Antonius was also coming over to them, "I need to speak to them about their classes, Sixth Years are the most complicated."

"Okay, come on," Cassia agreed and took her brother's hand, pulling him away before he could speak to them to go join Professor Ashain at the staff table while the professor gave Corin his schedule quickly since he was the lone Fifth Year now Maurice was skipped ahead.

"So let's start with you Rose, you wanted to continue in all of the core subjects, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well you got Os and Es for everything but History of Magic, I'm afraid Binns only accepts passing grades to continue onto the NEWT level. Do you want just the six or one of the electives?"

"I'll go for Muggle Studies, that's useful with Ministry work and an Outstanding should be alright for Oring?"

"Absolutely," Professor Longbottom nodded and flicked his wand at the schedule before handing it over to Rose, "Rivers, you got Outstandings for everything so you can really have your pick. Do you still want the subjects you chose before?"

"Yes, Sir," Maurice confirmed and the professor tapped his wand on the parchment, handing the timetable over to the younger boy.

"Albus, thankfully only Exceeds Expectations is acceptable for all the subjects you wanted," Professor Longbottom told him as he moved on, "Except for Transfiguration, Professor Durante has lowered the bar but a Poor is still not going to cut it. Oring and Koray both accept Acceptables though and Hagrid is fine with an Exceeds Expectations, Binns doesn't take Dreadfuls though. I'd recommend Care of Magical Creatures, it's your highest mark."

"No way!" Albus scoffed, "I love Hagrid but I also love living, I'll take Astronomy."

"Are you sure? Muggle Studies has more applications."

"Nah, Astronomy is more interesting," Albus insisted and the professor obediently flicked his wand over the paper, handing him his timetable and not noticing as Albus muttered under his breathe, "And easier to sleep through."

"Abby," Professor Longbottom moved onto his daughter, both of their faces flushing in awkward embarrassment, he cleared his throat nervously, "Well you got Outstandings in Charms and Herbology so you're fine for them, Ashain is alright with Exceeds Expectations as well. You flunked Potions and Transfiguration though, you'll need other choices. You're good for anything else except History, which you also failed. I'd recommend the electives at least."

"Okay, Arithmancy and Muggle Studies," Abby told him and her father raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're only going to take five subjects?"

"I'd rather focus on a few then take more than I can handle," Abby offered nervously and her father's face didn't betray how he felt about this, "Unless I can take Alchemy?"

"No, Voltur wants passing grades in Potions and Transfiguration," Professor Longbottom shook his head, "At least take Astronomy or Care of Magical Creatures as well, six? Meet me halfway, Abby, I know you can do it. Your sister took seven."

"I'm not my sister. And you already knew I was going to take five."

"That was before you failed three subjects, I don't want you to fail at life as well."

"Dad..." Abby muttered, looking upset and embarrassed at the same time. Professor Longbottom sighed and flicked his wand over her schedule, apparently relenting as he handed her the timetable, "Thank you."

"It's your choice," Professor Longbottom informed her and moved on, "Well, Michael, you passed all five subjects you need for Healer and the passing grades in Transfiguration and Potions is enough for Alchemy."

"What? No, I don't want to take Alchemy," Michael protested anxiously, "I just put my name down because Maurice said it and I thought I'd flunk out for sure. I want to take History of Magic and Care of Magical Creatures instead."

"You can't, you already put your name down for Alchemy. You can drop the subject once you've started it but you need to at least go to the first lesson or it'll be cancelled for everyone because of a lack of numbers."

"Well can't I do that and be put down for them two instead?"

"No, you can take one of them and Alchemy then drop Alchemy and have six but you can't replace it. I'm sorry," Professor Longbottom told him apologetically and Michael sighed heavily, "Would you like to do that or just stick with what you had?"

"Put me down for Care of Magical Creatures then," Michael sighed and the professor waved his wand over the schedule before handing it to the disappointed boy who scanned it with a scowl, "Why do we have to have double Alchemy every freaking day?"

"Because it's a new subject with a lot to learn," Professor Longbottom pointed out and Michael sighed yet again as the Head of House moved on to Scorpius, "Well your grades are certainly good enough for whatever you want, you got five Outstandings."

"You got five Outstandings?!" Rose burst out incredulously and Scorpius nodded, she slumped back disappointingly, "I only got four!"

"I got none," Albus offered unhappily, "Even James got_ some_."

"I got eleven," Maurice spoke up smugly, "And I'm a year younger then all of you."

"Yeah but you're some inhuman super soldier who knows everything."

"You all passed, it doesn't matter who got what," Professor Longbottom pointed out before turning back to Scorpius, "You passed Potions and Transfiguration so you're good for Alchemy.

"Good, I wanted Alchemy. And I'll take all the subjects I got Outstandings in," Scorpius told him, knowing they were all subjects he quite enjoyed which left just one slot and he wanted - and needed, considering he didn't have a career plan - a full schedule, "And one more."

"Potions is your best bet, it has the most applications and Vipera is fine with Exceeds Expectations."

"Does Professor Kresmir accept Exceeds Expectations for Study of Ancient Runes?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll have that," Scorpius decided in relief that he could take it, "I like Runes."

"Are you sure? Potions may be the better choice here, the core subjects are core for a reason."

"I'm sure, I'd rather take subjects I enjoy."

"Alright," Professor Longbottom agreed and tapped his schedule, handing it to Scorpius, "Good luck."

"You should've taken Potions," Rose insisted testily as the professor left.

Scorpius shrugged disinterestedly as he looked over his schedule, noticing the increase in double lessons and more space then he'd had since before electives. He did indeed have double Alchemy daily as Michael had noticed, except Thursday it was always the last class before dinner as well. He was slightly disappointed to realize he'd be with his friends less, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Herbology were the only subjects they were all taking. He'd have Michael and Maurice in every class but Study of Ancient Runes though, Rose was also in Transfiguration as well. Abby would be alone for Arithmancy too, she and Rose alone in Muggle Studies, Rose and Albus alone in Astronomy then he and Abby would be absent for Potions that the other four were all taking.

He was quite disappointed to see the week got off to a crappy start with double Charms with Grant, he despised Grant and the feeling was mutual although not as bad as it had once been. Still, he had tortured Scorpius' favorite professor and locked his friends in to do die with werewolves, his son may be a good guy but Grant wasn't. The lesson wasn't even interesting, Grant spent most of the class waffling on about the importance of NEWTs and a bit about what they'd be doing that year then had some doing some easy spells they already knew to make sure they were confident in them because next lesson would be attempting them nonverbally. Double Care of Magical Creatures after it was better, although strange to just be with only Michael and Maurice - the girls had Muggle Studies while Albus had a free period - in a much smaller class. Professor Hagrid gave a speech not dissimilar from Grant's, however he did actually let them get on with some work as well as he introduced them to some Kneazles which was surprisingly tame but he supposed half the lesson had been wasted with the speech.

After that was lunch then Double Potions for his friends - except Abby, who had nothing - and Double Study of Ancient Runes for Scorpius, he almost regretted his decision due to the lack of his friends. He spotted Byron's brother in the class though and sat beside him as he remember what he'd promised the boy, not that it mattered as Professor Kresmir also gave a speech about NEWTs with the added challenge of having to write down what he was saying in Runic to get back into the swing of things so it was more slow going but more fun. Professor Kresmir had a way of making the subject come alive, Scorpius didn't think he'd like it as much if he didn't have such a great teacher. After that was a break for them all then a single Herbology, Professor Longbottom only had time to talk about the importance of NEWTs with the lesser amount of time. Still, Scorpius wondered why they all felt the need to waste a lesson giving such similar speeches, did no teacher just want to teach? After that was another break then Alchemy and Scorpius would be done for the day, Albus and Rose would have Astronomy every night but otherwise it was over. And so, he and Maurice had to drag the disinterested off to their first Alchemy class.

Scorpius had an increasingly ominous feeling on the way though, apparently the class was in the same far off, disused tower room that Rojer had been in earlier. Was he assisting in Rayan's class? Scorpius felt very nervous as he stood outside waiting with his friends, he might've complained about the day's lessons but it had taken his mind off his guilt. More showed up to join them, there was actually eleven it seemed who had chosen to take Alchemy including Nott and Knight. He didn't know the rest, four Ravenclaws, a Slytherin girl and a lone Hufflepuff. He thought one of the Ravenclaws had been the person who'd had a problem with Michael being a werewolf in Professor Hagrid's class a while ago, he was just pondering this when he was snapped from his thoughts by the door abruptly flying open. They stood staring at it for a minute.

"Do we go inside?" Knight asked of them all in a curious whisper.

"Yes, you come inside. How many classes do you have when you stand outside of the door?" Rojer's accented voice complained in reply, Scorpius was sure if he could see him then he'd be rolling his eyes.

The students filed into the room, it was larger than Scorpius had expected but still quite small in comparison to other classrooms. There were workbenches like in a Potions classroom but much less, cabinets lined most of the walls and there were two doors leading off. It was dark and surprisingly dusty, there were only three – admittedly large – windows, situated at the front of the room which revealed a beautiful view of the lake but the twilight sky provided little light. Rojer was sitting at the front of the class in front of it, at his own table with some potion brewing and a chalk board behind him. He was peeling something with a knife as they entered, not even bothering to look as they sat.

"What happened to Rayan Fintan?" Scorpius couldn't help but ask, earning him confused looks from some of the other students, "The old Alchemy teacher."

"Rayan is not well," Rojer explained without stopping in his peeling or sparing him a glance, Scorpius felt his spirits sink. He _was_ going to be taught by the son of the man whose soul he'd destroyed, "Until he is better, he ask me to teach his class. I am his friend so I do this, I do not know how long until he is well again. I am a Alchemist, that is what I do for my life so I know what I talk about but I do not teach. If you do not like this then you can go."

* * *

><p>"It's your turn," Oathan offered cheerfully.<p>

Pyrrhus glanced over at them from across the hotel room, his son was being so kind and welcoming to their hostage. Oathan was trying to teach him chess, which was quite interesting considering Pyrrhus hadn't finished teaching Oathan to play yet so it was some hybrid game. Not that Bertie seemed overly receptive, he was very quiet but always seemed more relaxed with Oathan around. He heard a knock on the door, he waited for a second while the correct assortment of knocks played out before opening it for his nephew.

"Hello Carv-"

Pyrrhus' greeting was cut off prematurely as Carver greeted him with a violent punch, he fell back and hit his head painfully on a stupidly placed dresser. Carver hauled him to his feet with one hand, despite being only seventeen he was taller and burlier then Pyrrhus was, muscular from his days on the Quidditch team as a Beater despite having lost some weight since going into hiding. His hair had grown a tad but was still brutally short and brown, flecks of red and curls - both of which he knew his nephew despised - visible so it would likely be shaved soon. His beady blue eyes were filled oddly and unusually with murderous rage.

"WHAT THE HELL, PYRRHUS?!" Carver screamed at him.

Pyrrhus opened his mouth to ask what he was talking about but Carver struck him again instead. He grabbed him as he started to stagger back and slammed him against the wall instead, his free hand already punching again. Why were people so violent? He focused on his magic and opened his fist, unleashing a burst of air to throw his nephew back off him. Carver went flying and landed on his back on the carpet, Oathan leaped up and dropped down beside the teen. In his left hand, he held a knife to Carver's throat and in his right, he held a wand to Carver's head.

"That's my boy," Pyrrhus applauded his son as he jumped up, rubbing his throbbing jaw while Oathan grinned at the praise, "Now Carver, are you going to calm down so we can talk about whatever's bothering you rather than trying to pummel me into oblivion?"

"Fine," Carver spat, "Oathan, get off me."

Oathan didn't move, he glanced in askance at Pyrrhus. He smiled at his son and nodded in approval, only then did Oathan let him go. He holstered his wand and slipped his knife back into the sheath on his waist while Carver got to his feet, Bertie just sat frozen in terror.

"Well done," Pyrrhus offered and clapped his son approvingly on the shoulder, "That was brilliant."

"I woulded have moved in quicklier but since its Carver, I didn't know," Oathan admitted.

"You did the right thing," Pyrrhus assured him and Oathan smiled as he went back over to Bertie, Pyrrhus turned back to his fuming nephew, "Well?"

"What the hell, Pyrrhus?!" Carver repeated more calmly but still angrily, "I didn't sign up for this."

"What are you talking about?"

"You were supposed to talk to the woman, maybe torture her a bit if you _really_ had to _and_ it seemed like she was hiding something. You were not supposed to kidnap and butcher her son!"

"Well I felt guilty hitting her," Pyrrhus protested truthfully.

"And you don't feel guilty about hacking up her four year old?!" Carver raged at him and Pyrrhus laughed, _that_ was what he was mad about?

"Bertie, come her," Pyrrhus commanded and Carver looked somewhere between confused and outraged as the little boy approached, he held up the boys hands to show off he had all fingers and toes then turned his head to show both ears. Now, Carver looked only confused, "Do you need me to take off his shoes or do you get the point?"

"I don't understand," Carver stammered out, "But the Shadows tracked you to her, they saw the body parts?"

"It's called magic," Pyrrhus commented and withdrew his wand.

He drew it over Bertie's hand using a cutting spell to leave a small cut which had the boy start bawling as he always did. He fished in his pocket for a suitable item and found a coin, he pulled it out and let some of the blood land on the coin. He then healed Bertie's hand and held the bloody coin out to Carver, using a more complex Transfiguration spell to turn the coin into an exact replica of Bertie's thumb.

"It's just a spell..." Carver realized in surprise.

"Of course," Pyrrhus scoffed, feeling quite offended, "Do you really think I'd do that to a little kid? What kind of psychotic monster do you take me for? If I really had to then I'd at least give them a clean death first but the threat has to seem real for it to be feared and obeyed, you just need a bit of blood, an object to substitute and the right spell to make it look real though. She's a muggle, she's not going to know. Crystal can have her son back whole if she does what I want."

"I miss Crystal," Bertie sobbed and Pyrrhus rolled his eyes as he dropped to the boy's level.

"Look, kid, stop crying so much. This could be a lot worse. A word of advice, _no one_ likes a crybaby. Even people who like babies don't like it when they cry," Pyrrhus insisted and the boy's face screwed up as he seemed to try not to cry, "Save the tears for real problems, not paper cuts that I healed."

"Okay," Bertie cried and Pyrrhus sighed, gesturing for the boy to go and he ran back to Oathan in tears.

"And your father thought wizards should be strong."

"He's a wizard?" Carver wondered in surprise as Pyrrhus stood back up, nodding in confirmation.

"Oathan let him play with his wand one of the days and well... Seems like Michael isn't the only magical one in the family. I'm thinking of keeping him as a friend for Oathan if she can't find Jack," Pyrrhus shrugged it off and folded his arms, "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to apologize for attacking me?"

"I'm sorry for attacking you," Carver said dryly and Pyrrhus decided it was good enough, "I still hate this plan. You didn't kill the Scamanders, Scorpius survived his poisoning and this is fruitless. So far plus now the Soul Eaters took another of her kids to force her hand as well, if she doesn't find you for them then they'll kill her daughter."

"And Brutus approves of that?" Pyrrhus wondered in surprise.

"Brutus doesn't know."

"Well tell him and he should deal with it, you know he has a soft spot for kids. Especially now he's playing Daddy to the young Lords of Darkness."

"Sure, I'll just go talk to the Shadow Master's right hand man because I'm that important," Carver complained sardonically, "I haven't even been able to get out of England yet, I haven't seen James."

"Just do your best - not that it's really any of our fault - and tell your sibling not to screw up again, Scorpius and the Scamanders need to die," Pyrrhus insisted, "I'll keep trying to get Jack."


	9. VI: Alchemy

_**Thanks to:** Lucifersdaughter, Guest, Jizzle04 and Colin Creevey for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_Is Sal doing things behind her lovers back? _**  
><em>No. Selwyn just decided to go with taking Ivy without asking permission from any superior, not seeing it as a big deal that he'd to ask about but if Brutus knew then he'd not allow it which is what Carver and Pyrrhus meant<em>

**_Why is Carver okay with killing teenagers but hits his own uncle for thinking he was hacking boy body parts? _**  
><em>Because Bertie's a lot younger then a teenager, he sees killing them as quick and as painless as possible but hacking off body parts is painful and cruel plus he sees killing the teenagers as directly necessary for their plan to weaken Sal but mutilating Bertie is doing nothing (he's not even sure Crystal can help). He also doesn't like Pyrrhus randomly changing the plan behind his back<em>

**_What the fell could an orange glow be?_**  
><em>The sun<em>

**_Albus Potion grade_**  
><em>I know its not a question but two people asked about it. He is one of the best with potions but with the practical work, the written not so much (which is why he mentions its tough last book and that doesn't bode well for the other exams if its his best subject). He would've got an O for the practical but the written dragged it down to an E, a high E but an E<em>

* * *

><p>"What is that you're making?" Knight wondered, sounding intrigued as Rojer finished his peeling and tossed the ingredients into the cauldron.<p>

"No idea, I just like to keep my hands busy," Rojer answered with a shrug as he finally turned to them and put down the knife, guiltily Scorpius noticed his cheek was bruising where Scorpius had struck him when he was saving his life. He rubbed his hands idly together as his dark chestnut eyes scanned them, hands - Scorpius noticed for the first time - were scarred in random patches as if from burns, "So you decide to take Alchemy, one of the older, mysterious and most difficult branches of magic. Before we begin, we will go around of the room. You will tell me your name, a fact of yourself and why you choose this class."

"You haven't even told us your name," the Slytherin girl whined, she was sitting at the station behind Scorpius.

"Rojer Voltur. Now you."

"Polley Oliver. I'm of Slytherin house and I will be of age as of tomorrow," the girl introduced herself proudly, she still sounded whiny though, "And I chose this class because my parents insisted that I keep all my class options open."

"Very good, next," Rojer stated dismissively and gestured for the person next to her to go on, he picked up the knife in his other hand and idly twirled it.

"Ferne Murdoch," the Ravenclaw girl offered, "I got five Outstandings on my exams and I took the class because Polley did, she's my best friend and she didn't want to take it alone."

"Glad to see so many of you are so enthusiast about the subject," Rojer commented with dry sarcasm and gestured for those on the next work station to speak, a gangly, pale Ravenclaw boy with scruffy brown hair.

"Martin Hargrave. And erm… I have a pet toad called Eagle," the boy told them, looking nervous as if unsure if he was doing well, "I choose Alchemy because I've read about it and I think it sounds really interesting."

"Good to know, next."

"My name is Abraham Elm," the next Ravenclaw offered, a small boy with shinier and wavier hair then the boy next to him, "I took Alchemy because I think it could be cool and my fact… did you know the kid over there with the golden eye is a werewolf?"

"I did not know and I do not care," Rojer shrugged dismissively, much to Elm's apparent disappoint while Scorpius threw him a dark look, "Next."

"I'm Henrietta Hayes," the lone Hufflepuff introduced herself, she had frizzy, curled blond hair and a very small stature, she could easily pass for a younger student and had a bland look to her, "Most people call me Etta and I took Alchemy because I want to be an Alchemist."

"Always a good reason to take," Rojer nodded and gestured for the boy on the table in front to go next, an olive-skinned boy with short, neat, black hair and dark eyes.

"My name is Orhan Eklund, I'm in Ravenclaw like all my family," Orhan told him and twiddled his thumbs nervously, "I choose Alchemy because I think it sounds interesting and at the very least could be useful."

"Very good, next."

"Well, Professor Voltu-"

"No," Rojer interjected as Knight started to speak, "I told you, I do not teach as my job. You do not have need to address me as 'Professor.'"

"Well you're teaching us now. And what if my parents taught me to always treat people with respect?"

"Then your parents are wrong," Rojer shrugged and Knight looked like he'd been slapped in the face, "Dignity is what you should always treat the other people with. Dignity is given, respect is earned and trust is built. Some do not deserve respect and in my experience, those who lord over of others with their title are often the least for deserving."

"So… We should just call you Voltur?" Knight wondered uncertainly.

"That or Rojer, I answer to Rojer faster but say whatever does make you happy."

"Why is your English so bad?" Polley Oliver complained rudely.

"English is not my first, second or even third language so forgive me if I do not sound as flawless as those who speak it all their life," Rojer offered, sounding somewhat apologetic.

"Wow, how many languages do you speak?" Knight burst out excitedly and Rojer grunted unhappily.

"Too many. Now go on."

"Oh right, yeah and by the way, I think your English is fine and my name is Kenelm Knight," Knight introduced himself and scratched his head as if thinking of what to say, "About me… My parents are dead. And my grandparents are dead. And I have a little brother in Third Year and I'm responsible for him now. I picked Alchemy because it's a special rare subject, who doesn't want in on special rare subjects? Plus it sounds pretty cool like with the Philosopher's Stone and stuff, will you teach us to make that?"

"There is no Philosopher's Stone."

"Yes there is," Elm announced confidently, leaning back and folding his arms, "I read about it in a book, Harry Potter himself got it in his First Year to stop Voldemort."

"Is that so?" Rojer mused and put the knife down for a second, opening one of the draws in his table and rifling around. A second later, his hand reemerged with a reddish lump of rock that he threw to Elm, "There is one of the Philosopher's Stone. Go on, Abraham, make us an Elixir of Life or turn something to gold."

"Well I erm… I…" Elm stammered out, staring at the rock blankly. He pulled at it, banged it on the desk and even tried taking a bite out of it which just got him laughed at by half the class. His face reddened, "I erm… I don't know how it works."

"Because it does not work," Rojer insisted and held out his hands, Elm tossed it defeatedly back to him, "The Philosopher's Stone is not a stone, it can be transmuted to a stone but it is useless as a stone unless you know how to transmute it to a useable state."

"S-So that's really the Philosopher's Stone?"

"No," Rojer scoffed as he tossed it lazily back into the draw, "It is just a rock, I do not care for gold or eternal life. Next."

"Maximus Nott," Nott said immediately, apparently still remembering where they were before the shit in conversation, "I'm a pure-blood Slytherin, second son and second eldest child of Theodore and Millicent Nott. I took Alchemy because I want to be a Healer and I think it could help with that, it was amazing how you saved Malfoy the other day."

"It was nothing," Rojer brushed it off, either not thinking it was or not wanting to make it into a big deal. He finally gestured to the table Scorpius, Michael and Maurice sat at, "Next."

"Maurice Rivers," Maurice stated formally, "I'm deaf so I have to sit at the front and hold onto this necklace to translate sounds to words I can read, I'm only fifteen but I skipped a year ahead. I took Alchemy because I haven't learned it yet, knowledge is power. Was that really Alchemy how you saved Scorpius?"

"Yes, it was."

"Will you teach us that?"

"Maybe later. Next."

"Michael Sanford. I'm a werewolf. I took it because Maurice asked me too," Michael admitted tiredly.

"Such loyal friendships in this class," Rojer commented and finally turned to Scorpius, he felt his heart start to beat more frantically as the guilt churned in his stomach, "And you, Scorpius Malfoy?"

"I took Alchemy because I think it sounds interesting, especially the soul stuff," Scorpius told him lamely while his mind screamed at him that he'd killed Rojer's father. He also realized he still needed a fact about himself and had to try really hard to resist the urge to blurt out he'd killed Rojer's father, like his mind kept repeating, "And my fact erm… I err… I don't know, I erm… Am in Hogwarts?"

"Good to have someone in the class who does not know anything about themself," Rojer quipped sarcastically before turning back to the class while Scorpius felt his face burn, "So now that getting to know is out of the way, we can begin."

"How was that getting to know us?" Polley Oliver complained incredulously, "You just learned our names, a random fact and why we are taking Alchemy."

"That is all I need to know. Who you are, why you are here and a basic sense of who you are, you can tell a lot about a person from what they say and how they say."

"Like what?"

"The first thing you tell me is that you are Slytherin, you say this because you are very proud. And you say you come of age tomorrow, you say because you are excited for your birthday. Right?"

"Right," Polly confirmed, sounding surprised.

"And since you are coming of age tomorrow, do you not think that you should take the classes that you want not what your parents say to you?"

"Yeah, yeah I think I should. Thank you… I'm sorry, I can't pronounce your weird name," Polly said and Scorpius heard her stool as she got up and left, "Bye. Come on, Ferne."

"Wait for me!" Ferne Murdoch cried and rushed after her friend.

"Anyone else want to go?" Rojer asked of the remaining class members, they didn't move. He withdrew his wand and waved it at the door, it closed after the girls, "Well two down."

"Doesn't it bother you they left the class?" Knight wondered curiously as Rojer stood.

"No. Why would it bother? Less is better, especially to learn and if you all leave then I can get to go home where people are not always stand in my way," Rojer shrugged as he idly rubbed his hands together again, drawing Scorpius' attention back to the burns. Where they and his leg the result of Alchemy? "So Alchemy, it is date back to Ancient Egypt and has been go for a long time, it is a very broad subject and covers many a different things so we will not have time in just two years to get through every last part of it but we will do what we can. Alchemy in itself is also very experimentable in nature, which is part of why it makes so dangerous. Trying new things can discover great goods and great disasters, along with dangerous processes, things can explode."

"Is that how you burned your hands?" Elm asked worriedly and Rojer glanced at his hands for a minute.

"Eh, hard to say since they were burned in childhood so even with healing you have scars. I think yes so be careful and do as I say when practical working for your own safeness but first you should know some basic things," Rojer continued and looked up from his hands, drawing his wand again and waving it at the chalkboard where four identically sized triangles drew themselves where his wand went. Two were upside down and two with lines through them, , "Alchemy was a secret art in the past and symbols were used to hide meaning, you will learn these but for now just the basic. What are the four basic aspects of nature? There is only ten of us in the room, Maurice, it is a waste of time to raise your hand and wait to be picked. Just say what you know."

"Earth, Fire, Water and Air," Maurice answered as he lowered the hand he'd raised, Rojer tapped each of them in term as they were mentioned.

"Very good. Take five points to your house. But they represent more of then the obvious that you think. Fire is the life-force, burning will to live. Water is our emotion, easily flows and not completely in our control. Air is our intelligence, above it all. Earth is our body, the solid matter we are made of," Rojer explained and drew three more symbols with his wand beneath the elements, one was a cross with a triangle on top, one a cross with a circle on top with another semi-circle on top of that and finally a circle with a horizontal line through it, "These are the three primes. What are they?"

"Sulfur, Mercury and Salt," Etta Hayes spoke up, again Rojer tapped the symbol as she said the word.

"Very good. Take ten points to your house," Rojer told her with a vague nod in her direction, "These is make up the matter of all life. Salt is the base matter, what we are made of. Sulfur is the spirit of life, the soul for a lack of a better word. And Mercury is the connect between the both, the mind. Like with this, Alchemy is also multi-layered. It link to our potion-making and transformation magics which is why you must have a basic grasp of this, to muggle chemistry and my least favorite part, the philo… the philosp..."

"Philosophy," Maurice provided and Rojer gestured in his direction approvingly without looking away from the random direction of space he was staring into.

"Yes, that," Rojer nodded and drew his grim gaze back to them, he rubbed his hands together idly again, "But the important word to remember is transmutation, at the core this is what Alchemy is. It is all to do changing things, creating and mixing and merging but unlike in potions, it is not just with liquids and the final product is not limited to a vial of liquid. Now, I am tired of speak and I am bored, the sound of my voice is annoying. Let us do something, we shall try to get you to create Aqua Vitae, a common alchemic experiment and this will introduce some of the process you use. To do is the best way to learn not to listen, there are too many languages and too many words but the thing is always the very same. I started with water in this… whatever I make, let us make it pure again."

"So you _did_ have a plan for that all along," Knight mused.

"No, I am just making up as I go along but I like how you could think that," Rojer offered as he limped over to the cupboards while Knight laughed, "Everything item equipment you need should be in here and materials to work with is in the cupboard there."

"Did you get that limp because of Alchemy?" Elm asked worriedly while Rojer started to retrieve the things they wound need, this time he didn't hesitate in shaking his head.

The rest of the lesson was practical, Rojer added some liquid to his potion then doled it out for them purify. He had his own setup at the front of the class to demonstrate as they went along, explaining as he went and making sure everyone was doing it right. Scorpius found it was more complicated than potion making, each step seemed more complicated to remove different things or mix something in to bind it to something else so they could remove them both. He also got the danger, there was no leaving things to simmer and instead using an intense heat to burn way things in a crucible that could explode if you hadn't successfully gotten rid of all the seeds from the previous step. Wands were also more of a presence, from creating the fire to magically stirring while muttering some minor transfiguration incantations.

And if this was just a simple Alchemic thing then Scorpius dreaded to think what Rojer would consider complex, although Scorpius supposed it would help if his mind didn't keep wandering. Guilt nipped as his mind, trying to chase the truth out of his mouth. He didn't know why, he just felt compelled to blurt out the truth and beg for forgiveness. Rojer was actually a pretty good teacher, he was clear in his explanation, demonstration and made sure everyone was keeping up. He did still look grim, Scorpius thought that was just the way his permanent expression had been set which made it clash more tragically with the smiling child from the memory.

Until Ashylos had been killed anyway. He seemed in pain too, it was more noticeable as the lesson went on when more walking was involved and he got better at noticing a cringe from his regular expression. Scorpius was sure his leg was paining him, once or twice he'd seem him rub the leg he limped on. That was something else, he hadn't been crippled with a limp in the memory that Ashylos had showed him. What had happened to him?

"Alright, then now we should be done and if you have done it all right as we have then…" Rojer announced, snapping Scorpius back from his thoughts as they poured the liquid through the final filter. He held up his flash, showing a perfectly clear, still liquid that he downed, "…You should be able to drink it. Ah, refreshening."

The reactions were a bit mixed, some – Elm and Michael - cringed, some eyed their liquid uncertainly – Martin and Orhan - and some – Knight and Maurice - confidently downing it as well. Seeing the latter two nod in approval and look impressed, Scorpius and the rest started drinking theirs. Scorpius found himself pleasantly surprised, it tasted like water but very pure and oddly invigorating. He was almost disappointed that was it, they had been working a while and it had been even longer since lunch time.

"That stuff is good," Elm complimented Rojer.

"If it wasn't then you would have been dead," Rojer shrugged which elicited a horrified expression on Elm's face as the bell went for dinner, "Perfect timing. Now go and I will see anyone still wanting this class tomorrow."

"What about this stuff?" Knight wondered as the others started to file out.

"I will clean it up, I do not eat dinner with the hall," Rojer insisted, practically shooing him out the door.

"Great class then, Rojer, see you tomorrow," Knight called back, others adding similar as they left.

"I've never done that before, it was very interesting," Maurice started to say as Scorpius went to leave with them but stopped, glancing back to see Rojer limping around to clean up after them, "Scor, stop obsessing. Just come on."

"I'm just going to help him clean up, I'll catch up," Scorpius decided and the deaf boy rolled his eyes before heading down.

"See you at dinner then," Michael offered and clapped him on the shoulder as he left, Scorpius headed back inside.

"Want some help?"

"Not necessarily," Rojer shrugged and rolled his eyes when Scorpius started to help him gather up the equipment.

_I killed your father. I killed your father. I killed your father. I killed your father. I killed your father_, Scorpius' mind immediately started repeating.

"It was a good class," Scorpius told him nervously but truthfully as they piled the things up by the sink, he couldn't wait to learn more about the soul stuff and got the impression Rojer had touched on it with the primes, "Very… enlightening."

"If you say so, I do not teach."

"I erm…"

_I killed your father. I killed your father. I killed your father. I killed your father. _

"I am sorry that if I upset you when I was saving your life, it was necessary," Rojer apologized, taking Scorpius by surprise as he started filling the sink with water to clean, "If it bother you this much then next time I will just levitate out of the way and let you die."

"Oh right, no that's okay. I-I understand," Scorpius stammered out, feeling his heart thundering with guilt, "I'm sorry I hit you. I just… freaked out."

"It is fine," Rojer offered disinterestedly as he started cleaning the equipment, Scorpius started to put it away to keep himself useful.

"And you know, I don't… I don't think I ever thanked you."

"Thanked you for what?"

"Saving my life."

"Ah right, I did not notice because I do not care," Rojer told him dismissively, "I do not save your life to be thanked. I do it because you were in my way to get food. And it is right thing to do."

"Well still, thank you," Scorpius insisted and Rojer spared him a grim look before going back to his work, he seemed miserable. Ashylos would want his son to be happy, "You know, you erm… you don't strike me as a happy person."

"Really? This surprises me," Rojer quipped sarcastically, "And now you have thank me, if there is nothing other than you can go. I can do this."

_I killed your father. I killed your father. I killed your father. I killed your father._

"Erm… Ok-Okay, I'll see you tomorrow," Scorpius offered and almost tripped over his own feet as he left to go to dinner, he'd have to do something about that.

"How was Alchemy?" Albus asked through a mouthful of spaghetti as he joined his friends at the table.

"Good."

"Are you done obsessing over Rojer now?"

"No," Scorpius admitted and his friends collectively groaned, "I can't just ignore it! He's Ashylos' son. I killed Ashylos."

"You destroyed his soul after his dead, there's a difference," Maurice pointed out and Scorpius felt like slapping himself.

"Thank you, that makes it sound so much better," Scorpius complained irritably as he tossed some food onto his plate.

"He has a point though," Rose spoke up, "If that guy is Ashylos' son then he lost his father long before you came along so his life is irrelevant and you don't have to obsess over him."

"Shut up, Rose," Maurice barked darkly, making the girl look taken aback, "Don't agree with me."

"Ashylos would want me to help his son," Scorpius protested seriously.

"Help him do what?" Michael wondered slowly, "Rojer is a grown man. With a life."

"Well he seems unhappy, maybe if I told him about Ashylos then he'd have closure and he could be happy."

"Scor," Abby said gently and he glanced at her to see her shake her head, "I don't think so."

"Of course he's unhappy, the last time you saw him his father was being murdered by Grindelwald's men," Maurice pointed out as he scarfed down some chicken, "They probably captured him and tortured him for information, try to deduce if Ashylos was alone or not. Kid was traumatized and broken long before you destroyed his father's soul."

"If he is this Rojer who was Ashylos' son then he's been alive a long time," Corin stated seriously, "A million things could have happened that have nothing to do with Ashylos, maybe he doesn't even remember him anymore."

"He could just be unhappy because the other Alchemist teacher is sick," Michael prompted while Scorpius felt his spirits sink further, "He mentioned Rayan was his friend after all."

"Rayan did have a pretty nasty cough when I met him," Scorpius admitted as he recalled the memory and he supposed it was a reason, he wouldn't be happy if his friend was ill, "But we don't know how close they were or anything."

"Exactly my point," Corin reiterated, "You don't know him, you don't anything about him or what's going on with his life. It's none of your business."

"Ashylos would care if he was here but he's not here because I destroyed him so it's my business to care now."

"That's just your guilt talking," Albus insisted as he swallowed quickly to avoid a reprimand from Michael, "And you know, if your assassin returns then you won't have to worry about it. Can we please talk about that?"

"The mood I'm in right now, if an assassin comes then I wouldn't mind them killing me," Scorpius sighed heavily.


	10. VI: Help

_**Thanks to:** Cal, Jizzle04 and Colin Creevey, green aura, Dreamspell and Guest for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_Scorpius learnt a few new Hogwarts names this chapter. Does that mean any of them would have significance to the story moving forward?_**  
><em>Maybe<em>

**_Why didn't he mention Maurice and Orous/Why did Florian only mention the Scamanders and Scorpius?_**  
><em>He does need all five dead but he just wants the Scamanders and Scorpius dead first, he cares about Maurice (and Orous to a lesser extent) so is putting it off. He also thinks they're harder to kill due to Maurice's talent and Orous' soul being damaged so it requires more effort, he wants to get the easier kills out of the way first ideally so the focus is on them<em>

**_Is there any hope for Lucy or should readers assume she is a villain now?/Who else was with Selwyn? Lucy and who? Are they really turning her into their version of Jack? Or it's just a possessed Lucy talking?_**  
><em>Too spoilery to say. You will see about Lucy at some point eventually though<br>_

**_Is it a spoiler to ask what the flashbacks will be?_**  
><em>No its not, this book its Carver and a bit of Xerxes <em>

**_If Michael doesn't want to do Alchemy, why didn't he leave with the other two girls?_**  
><em>It's actually addressed in this chapter so read on<em>

* * *

><p>Crystal was devastated, she really struggled to believe it. First some lunatic had taken Bertie and now a different lunatic had taken Ivy. They were <em>children<em>, they were _muggles_, they weren't a part of this and neither was she. What had she actually done to deserve this? What had she done to get herself dragged into this situation, she didn't know who Pyrrhus Florian was and why he wanted Jack and she didn't know who those people were and why they wanted Florian. Why was this even happening to her family? The questions tore at her mind all night, her mind that was trapped in her throbbing battered skull. She didn't sleep, she hadn't slept, she hadn't eaten either and the next morning she had Agnes and Flynn all the more confused and lost for their lost siblings. And still no reply from Jack or return of the owl, she was seriously beginning to think that Jack had just killed the poor bird.

She sent the only two kids she had left off to school, hoping against hope they'd be safer in a crowded school environment. She couldn't sit around waiting for the next piece of her son to come to her, she had to do something to find this psycho Florian guy to save Ivy while waiting on the owl. John had seemed to imply the tracking spell he used on the letter was only one of several, he'd also mentioned it was illegal which could be why no one knew about them. She just needed to go back to Knockturn Alley, not be so obvious about being a muggle this time, what had he said about the tattoo on his arm? Crystal recalled it from memory and drew it only her arm, smudging it and fading it, making it look identical to John's. She also found a suitable stick to pretend to be a wand and then headed off back to the Wizarding World.

She rolled up her sleeves to reveal the fake tattoo when she got to Knockturn Alley, heading back down into the gloomy twisted streets while her heart screamed in her ears. She couldn't believe she was doing this but then what choice did she have? She had to do something, it didn't matter if it was illegal and what happened to her as long as she could protect her children. She had to start somewhere.

"Hey! You there!" Crystal barked at a random passerby, trying to sound tough and to not recoil in fear when the weedy wizard turned to face her, "I-I'm looking for information and you… you better tell me."

"Is that so?" the man sneered.

"Yeah!" Crystal insisted and pointed to the fake tattoo with her fake wand, "Or… Or I- Or else. Bad stuff will happen to you. With magic. That I'll do to you."

"Oh, Bambi," a familiar voice sighed and Crystal felt a hand grab her arm, yet again she being compressed into darkness and then she was back on the outskirts of Diagon Alley again with John facing her, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"What… What you said," Crystal stammered out, his eyes widened when they saw the fake tattoo, "Being like I belong."

"What the hell is this?!" John demanded as he grabbed her arm with the mark, "Did you seriously get a tattoo of this?!"

"No!" Crystal protested as she yanked her arm free, "I just drew it. I used to be good at art."

"Don't you know what that is? What that represents?"

"No idea."

"It's the Dark Mark, Voldemort's Mark that he gave to his followers. And in case you didn't know, Voldemort is the guy who wanted to kill all muggles and is the apparent father of the Shadow Master," John explained to her as he waved his wand over her arm, vanishing the mark in an instant, "You can't go around with the Dark Mark on your arm."

"Put it back!" Crystal insisted, "I need it! I don't care what it means."

"No," John said firmly, "And for the record, your plan was not going to work anyway. The intimidating effect is kind of ruined by the face full of bruises. Plus you just flat out suck at it."

"Well I don't have magic to heal me," Crystal pointed out miserably and John raised his wand again, he muttered something under his breath and waved it at her. She felt the pain slowly receding and was sure if she could see her face then she'd see the bruises fading, "Thank you."

"What are you even looking for now?"

"Tracking spells. I need to find someone else," Crystal admitted as she instinctively rolled her sleeves back down and wrapped her arms protectively around herself.

"Why are trying to find so many people?" John wondered incredulously and Crystal glanced at him, catching his vivid, cerulean eyes as a thought occurred to her. She used to like blue eyes.

"Do you _really_ want to know?" Crystal asked quietly as he folded his arms. She needed help and she was quite sure John had nothing to do with law enforcement.

"Well, not_ really_. It's more of a mild curiosi-"

"A few days this random psycho kidnapped my youngest son and told me if I didn't find my ex-boyfriend for him then he'd kill him and he-he'd send him back in pieces until I did, he's been doing that. And then last night these two other people appeared, a girl and this Selwyn man and they told me the psycho was called Pyrrhus Florian, they're after him and they took my youngest daughter and told me if I didn't find Florian then they'll do the same. I still haven't heard from my ex-husband since I sent the owl so I'm trying to find a way to find Florian which might be done with tracking spells which you said were illegal which is why I was looking in Knockturn Alley," Crystal blurted out desperately, her eyes watering by the time she was done, "Do you know anything that could help?"

"Why did you have to go and tell me that!?" John snapped at her angrily and she couldn't help but flinch slightly in fear.

_Maybe he'll beat you, you deserve it_, Bob's voice told her unhelpfully.

"I'm sorry," Crystal muttered weakly and John sighed.

"Did you keep the pieces?"

"What?"

"The pieces of your son that Florian sent you, did you keep them?" John elaborated and Crystal nodded, feeling like vomiting just talking about it, "No spell is going to help you find Florian, he's defected from the Soul Eaters and both they and the Aurors are after him. If they're struggling to find him then no tracking spell you can do is going to help."

"Damn," Crystal sighed defeatedly and hung her head, so much for that plan.

"But there is a tracking spell we can do to find the rest of your son," John continued and Crystal's head shot back up, "If he's with Florian then that finds us Florian."

"You'll help me?" Crystal wondered hopefully to which John grunted.

"Unfortunately, yes."

* * *

><p>Scorpius threw himself into his animagi training for the rest of the evening, if he couldn't help Rojer then maybe he could at least help Michael. He failed on that front too, at least in the sense of transforming completely. It did leave him tired enough to sleep easy though, not that he had a big day tomorrow. Lessons were much more sporadic, after lunch he had a couple of hours until his next lesson then even longer before the final class of the day which was Alchemy. First thing was Transfiguration though – except for Abby who had Arithmancy instead and Albus who had nothing – which meant meeting the new teacher, Penny Durante according to Cassia. She probably had been introduced at the Start of Term feast as well but Scorpius had missed that. It felt weird to be having a Transfiguration class without Abby and Albus.<p>

"Goodmorning Sixth Years," Durante offered pleasantly with a kindly smile after they were seated, Michael sat beside Scorpius and she gave no indication of minding or wanting him to sit alone like Midas had, "I know you've had quite a rocky time with Transfiguration professors in the past but with any luck, those days are behind us. I'm Pen-_Professor_ Durante, I haven't taught classes before but I've tutored homeschooled children and Transfiguration has always been my best subject. I'm going to talk to you a little about NEWT level Transfiguration and then we'll do some exercises to see where we all stand, how does that sound?"

There was a murmuring of acceptance and nodding as Durante started on her NEWT speech, Scorpius noticed many of the boys seemed to be paying more attention than usual. She was fairly young and shoulder-length, dirty blond hair framed a face that could easily be considered attractive, she was maybe a little shorter than average but had a slender frame nonetheless. She did come across as quite friendly but since all she talked about was NEWTs and had them go over some previous spells to gauge where they were, Scorpius wasn't sure how she'd fare as a teacher yet. After that was another lonely runic lesson but at least they were doing work this lesson, Professor Kresmir seemed back to his usual enthusiastic self and it was catching. Plus it took his mind off Rojer, he gave them homework though. Scorpius took to working it while the rest of his friends went to relax in the dormitory or were in classes if they were in the younger years, it felt strange to be doing homework alone.

"Hey Scor," a voice offered and Scorpius' head shot up to see Lorcan, "Mind if I sit with you?"

"Err… Sure," Scorpius agreed and Lorcan gratefully took a seat, not before scanning the Library first as if making sure they weren't about to suffer imminent attack.

"I'm sorry, the others are in class except Lily. Normally I'd sit with her right now but Orous has a free while the others have Arithmancy so they're off doing dating stuff I guess," Lorcan explained as he opened a Potions book, looking bored already and nervously thumbing his wand as his eyes skimmed the pages.

"Why don't you sit with your brother? He seems to like you again."

"I… I kind of wanted a break," Lorcan admitted guiltily, "He's kind of… kind of… erm… exhausting."

"Hey Lorc!" Lysander called happily and joined them at the table, "For a second I thought I'd lost you! Oh, hi Scorpius, how are you?"

"I'm fine," Scorpius offered uncertainly and Lysander looked concerned.

"Are you sure you're alright? You're looking a little gray today."

"Gray?"

"Yes, when your aura is gray it tends to indicate there's a problem, that you're emotionally distressed or sad," Lysander explained seriously and Lorcan pinched the bridge of his nose, "To say you're feeling blue is wrong and a common misconception."

"You can't see auras anyway."

"You can if you drink the milk of a Nundu, my friend let me have some at breakfast."

"Well I'm okay," Scorpius insisted, having no intention of talking about it with Lysander.

"You can lie to me with your words all your want but your aura never lies and you shouldn't tell lies, it'll fill your brain with black smoke," Lysander told him knowingly while Lorcan gave a Scorpius a look that pleaded with him to not ask, the younger twin turned back to the older, "So Lorc, how are you?"

"Nothing much has changed since the last time I saw you five minutes ago in Potions," Lorcan pointed out.

"Oh right," Lysander nodded and bit his lip nervously, "Well would you like me to get you anything? A book you need for your Potions homework maybe?"

"I already _have_ the book I need."

"You should have waited for me, I could've gotten it for you."

"I don't mind."

"Well would you like me to get you something? Something to drink maybe? I find a nice cup of tea is quite lovely in the afternoon."

"I don't drink tea," Lorcan insisted.

"Oh right, you don't. Some juice maybe? Or just plain water?"

"We're in the Library," Scorpius pointed out, "You're not allowed drinks in here."

"Really? Since when?" Lysander wondered, seeming genuinely shocked by this revelation.

"Since always! It's not exactly a new rule."

"Oh, I never realized. I'm sorry, Lorcan," Lysander apologized, his face screwing up with guilt, "I'm so sorry that I can't get you a drink. Well I could still get you a drink and you would just have to drink it outside the room."

"I didn't want a drink," Lorcan reminded him and Lysander relaxed slightly.

"Oh, right. Would you like something to eat then? I could bring you a snack or something, whatever you want."

"You're not allowed to eat in here either," Scorpius told him and Lysander's face fell again.

"Who makes these cruel and unusual rules? What's next? We're not allowed to whistle in here? I'm so sorry, Lor-"

"But it's okay because I'm not hungry either," Lorcan interjected quickly and Lysander relaxed a bit again.

"Well is there anything else I can get you that you want?"

"No, let's just get on with this Potions essay."

"Oh, okay, whatever you want to do because I'm here for you, brother," Lysander assured his twin with a warm smile, Lorcan gritted his teeth in an attempt at a smile and they went back to their work. It lasted for all of five minutes before Lysander spoke up again, "Are you thirsty now, Lorcan?"

"No but I do need the toilet," Lorcan decided, looking exasperated as he stood.

"Do you want me to go with you? I could help-"

"I don't need help to go to the toilet!" Lorcan snapped and stalked off in frustration, Lysander watched him walk away before sighing and abruptly slapping Scorpius' arm.

"What was that for?" Scorpius wondered incredulously.

"You could try being nicer to him," Lysander complained at him, amber eyes narrowing darkly, "My brother's very fragile right now, he needs support not to be ignored. That's why he needed the toilet, to get away from _you_."

"I erm… ah… _what?!_" Scorpius stammered out finally, having no idea what to say to that and feeling quite sure he wasn't the reason for Lorcan's departure. Lysander sighed heavily but his expression softened.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't snap at you when your aura is all gray, it's not your fault that you don't understand him anyway. You don't have the bond we do because you're not a twin," Lysander told him and patted his arm gently, he sighed, "I wish I knew how to help him more but I fear he'll never have peace so long as he can remember those terrible, dark days."

Scorpius felt very relieved when he could leave the Scamanders and head to Defense Against the Dark Arts, it was just a single lesson and the designated Patronus lesson. It was good to see Professor Ashain – and his kids - again though, he gave them a NEWT speech as well but it was more succinct at least and then he had them trying to do a Patronus. Nonverbally. Scorpius was surprised to find he struggled with it as he'd been doing plenty of nonverbal magic with Varanian, some spells were harder to do nonverbally though and this was apparently one of them. The best he got was a few wisps which was more than pretty much anyone else, even Michael drew a blank and he was something of a Patronus prodigy.

"Gee, you guys really suck at this," Cassia offered unhelpfully.

"Like you could do better," Rose grumbled irritably, although she had never managed to cast a Patronus anyway.

"I bet I could."

"Patronuses are hard," Antonius agreed, making Scorpius wonder if he still was practicing magic. Somehow, he found it extremely unlikely the answer was no, "And do your work."

"Numbers are boring."

"You still need to know them, mathematics is very important," Rose spoke up again.

"I already _do_ know it," Cassia insisted, "It's easy."

"You think it's easy, huh?" Albus scoffed and reached over to snatch her work away from her then, "What's twenty-four times multiplied by seven then?"

"It's…" Cassia mused and paused to think for a minute, "One hundred and sixty-eight."

"Hah! No, it's… It's um… What is the answer?" Albus trailed off and dropped his voice to ask them.

"She's right," Maurice said dismissively, he hadn't been trying very hard to do a Patronus which was unusual for the work-crazy solider boy.

"Damn," Albus muttered as Antonius snatched his work back and slid it back to his sister, "An eight year old is better at math then me."

"Don't feel bad, Albie," Cassia offered gently and stretched across to pat him on the shoulder, "It's not your fault that your Daddy isn't an all-powerful, super awesome, mega talented genius like ours to inherit stuff. You're not an Ashain."

"My Dad is Harry Potter."

"So? My Daddy is Atticus Ashain and he's the best in the world ever," Cassia scoffed determinedly as she folded her arms proudly, "If I'm half of your age and better at math then you then it just proves who is the best Daddy."

"M-"

"Give it up, Al, you're going to win in an argument with her about her Dad," Abby interjected and Albus sighed resignedly.

"I win," Cassia grinned toothily, "Seriously though, we should get to together sometime before the assassin strikes again."

"We'd love to but Scorpius doesn't care about that," Michael pointed out and the smile was wiped from her face in her instant.

"There's an assassin trying to murder you and you _don't_ care? Did you go crazy over the summer?"

"What if they try to kill you again?" Antonius asked, looking incredibly anxious and terrified of this thought.

"This is Hogwarts, its safe… ish and I'm sure the Aurors patrolling aren't going to let anyone in to kill me," Scorpius brushed it off, not wanting to have to think about it.

"Since when did you have faith in Aurors?"

"Yeah, half are Shadows and the other half are so stupid they don't even notice when one of their wand holsters go missing," Cassia scoffed, earning a scowl from her brother, "We can figure out who's trying to kill you and get them, I heard Marigold-"

"Hehe, _Marigold_," Albus chuckled, Abby rolled her eyes.

"-Talking to Daddy about it, the poison used is pretty fast so the timeline means you had to have been poisoned on the train. It's so toxic that you just have to touch it to be infected so either someone poisoned your pasty or someone touched you, no one else was poisoned so it was just you they were after and the other food was okay," Cassia explained and shoved a spare piece of parchment, "So right a list of everyone that you had contact with, just people brushing past you could've touched you."

"I'm not doing that," Scorpius insisted, handing the paper back to her, "In that case, it could've been anyone I walked by and I wasn't paying attention to everyone I walked by."

"It would be a start, you have a investigation."

"Good luck getting him to do that, Cassia, every time I bring it up he brushes it off to obsess over his guilt trip about Rojer."

"Why are you obsessed with Rojer instead of who tried to kill you?" Antonius wondered incredulously.

"Well you can't obsess over him if assassins kill you first," Cassia pointed out determinedly, "You should take this seriouslier, Scor. I'd rather investigate your attempted murder then your murder."

"Why do you need to investigate at all?" Scorpius complained, wishing everyone would stop making such a big deal out of it, "We know it's almost certainly the Shadows."

"Acause you're my friend and stopping the Shadows is what… Aaron's… colors do," Cassia offered seriously, managing to use code, "Plus in ten years I'll be an Auror and in twenty I'll be the Head Auror, investigating is part of catching the bad guys."

"She's right you know, they're not just going to give up," Maurice added and Scorpius sighed in frustration.

"If you lot don't get on with your work then I'm going to split you up," Professor Ashain chided them as he passed by, "I don't mind you talking but you have to actually _do_ the work."

"Yeah, get to work," Cassia commanded at them, jabbing her finger.

"I saw you talking to them," Professor Ashain pointed out and Cassia's face flushed at being caught out, "Get on with your own work, if you interfere with the class then you can do your math in my office."

"Yes, Daddy."

Scorpius was glad it meant they shut up about the poison but the lesson ended shortly after that anyway, he took he break in classes to work on his animagi training since the only homework so far had been from Runes and he'd finished that earlier. He was determined to do it, those gaps in the timetable could be very useful. After that he trudged on back up for Alchemy with Maurice and surprisingly, Michael still.

"Aren't you going to drop Alchemy now you've had the first lesson?" Scorpius wondered of him as they climbed the steps of the tower, "I got the impression that was what you were going to do."

"It was," Michael admitted, "But I changed my mind. Don't you remember what Nott said? It could be useful for healing, at the very least we know it can save people dying from poison like Rojer did to you. I want to learn how to do that, especially since the assassin you're choosing to ignore could try again so I might have to use it."

"You know, you people accuse me of obsessing but you're the ones obsessing over this stupid poison thing."

"Are you still here, Sanford?" a voice demanded angrily as they reached the top of the stairs where the rest of the class were clustered, minus the two girls who'd left and would likely not be back. Elm was the speaker, "Thought you'd have dropped out by now. Don't you have a full moon to go bark at, you filthy dog?"

"Hey! Don't insult my friend," Scorpius snapped and had his wand in his hand in an instant, Maurice hastily grabbed his necklace.

"What did I miss?" Maurice wondered as he also drew his wand.

"Just drop it," Michael sighed.

"I wasn't insulting your friend, I was insulting the dog," Elm said determinedly, folding his arms.

"Are you English allergic to the opening of doors?" Rojer's accented voice complained as the door opened, this time the Alchemist had opened it by hand and gestured for them to enter, "Seriously, go into the class do not stand outside it or next time there will be no class."

"Got it," Knight nodded as they started to file in but Rojer held up his hand to halt Scorpius and Maurice.

"No. You two go away, no class for you today."

"What?! Why!?" Maurice burst out incredulously, Rojer's eyes darted immediately to their wands.

"There is no fighting. Come back tomorrow and be calm or do not come back."

"We were just defending our friend," Scorpius pointed out desperately.

"Suckers," Elm smirked but Rojer halted him too.

"Same for you, my ears work. There is no bullying. Come back tomorrow and be calm or do not come back."

"That's completely unfair!" Elm protested angrily.

"That is my rules. No fighting. No bullying. You treat all people with dignity in my class or you do not come in my class. Buh-bye," Rojer insisted with a note of finality before closing the door on them.


	11. VI: Fingers, Blood and Talks

Crystal headed out with John and took him back to her home – or rather just told him the address and he teleported them there because it was faster – while her remaining children were still in school. She started to have second thoughts as she let him into the house, she was putting her trust in a random stranger who could very well betray her or kill her or whatever. She had had to accept she was an awful judge of character. She didn't think she had a choice though, what was the worst that could happen really? If he killed her then maybe the psychos would let her children go since they had no reason to hold them hostage anymore, for one stupid second she hoped he would kill her. And then she noticed another box on the kitchen table.

_Great plan, what piece of our child did the psycho cut off now while you were failing as a mother?!_ Bob's voice growled at her inside her mind darkly, _Answer me, you stupid bitch! Why can't you protect our children!?_

"No," Crystal whimpered tearfully, putting a hand to her face.

"This is the kind of box Florian is sending you pieces of your son?" John asked bluntly as he strode over, Crystal cringed at horrible words and managed a nod before John flipped it open while retaining his unreadable expression, "Hm. Where are the other parts?"

"Freezer," Crystal muttered and John immediately went to retrieve them, "I erm… thought… thought maybe they could be reattached if I get him back."

"I understand," John stated as he placed the three tubs on the table.

"What erm… What… What part of…?"

"Another finger," John answered before she had to complete her sentence and looked away as he took the parts out.

"And you… you really think you can find him with… with those?"

"No."

"No? What? But you said…" Crystal shot out desperately, turning back round to see John was waving his wand over the body parts that he'd laid out on the table. She resisted the urge to throw up.

"Look," John offered and made a gesture with his wand, immediately the small chunks of flesh shifted to become two coins, a tissue and a Lego block, "These are not your son's limbs. It's a Transfiguration spell, a bit of blood onto an object and you can turn it into an exact replica of that person's body parts. I guess its true Florian has a gift for Transfiguration."

"So Bertie's not had his limbs cut off?" Crystal wondered, feeling a flood of relief coursing through her.

"No. Or if he has, Florian hasn't given them to you. It means one of two things, either he didn't have the stomach to mutilate your son or…"

"Or what?"

"Or he's already dead and using the spell to make it seem like your son is still alive," John admitted reluctantly and Crystal had to fight back the wave of despair that crashed against her, "There's no way to tell. I'm sorry."

_Why didn't you protect them?!_ Bob's voice screamed at her angrily, _You can't do anything right! You can't do anything at all! My son is dead because of you, Crystal, this is on you! You killed him! You've killed them all!_

"Is… Is there anything we can do still?" Crystal pleaded, glancing back to John who had crossed his arms and averted his eyes with a thoughtful expression.

"There is one spell I know that could work. It's Dark Magic though."

"Okay," Crystal agreed readily, she'd realized John would likely use bad magic when she accepted his help.

"I'll need to prepare a potion, may take a while."

"Okay," Crystal agreed again with only a hint of reluctance, not wanting to wait but accepting it was better than nothing.

"It'll require your blood," John pointed out and Crystal was slightly taken aback for a minute but quickly decided it was worth it.

"Okay. Whatever it takes."

"Okay then," John nodded in understanding as he approached her, he tapped her shoulder and she felt herself being compressed again. They reappeared by her car back in London, "I'll get started on this potion, I'll come for you when it's time for you."

"I'll be waiting," Crystal confirmed as John turned away, vanishing with a sound like a thunderclap.

Crystal could only cling to hope that it would work and she was doing the right thing as she drove home, trying not to think about the possibility that Bertie was already dead. Somehow she didn't put it past Florian to have already killed him and there was Ivy, she had no way of knowing whether she was alive. Had her children been dead the moment they were taken? Was she just chasing ghosts? Was there any hope left?

_Only a fool could possibly think there's still hope_, Bob's voice scoffed, _Bertie and Ivy are with me now, I'll keep them safer then you ever did. But you're going to keep trying anyway because you are a fool_

Crystal just nodded, wondering whether she should be concerned for her mental health as she pulled in at her home. Not that it felt much like a home now. She headed inside, thinking back to her thoughts when she'd walked inside earlier. Would her children really be better off without her?

"Hey," a gruff unfamiliar voice barked as Crystal walked into the kitchen, she jumped and spun to see a heavyset stranger in wizard's robes leering at her, "Have you found Florian yet?"

"N-No," Crystal stammered out.

"Well that's too bad," the man smirked before turning on his heel and disappearing with a pop.

Crystal had an incredibly bad feeling but was distracted by a squawk, she turned to see John's owl had returned. She rushed over to it and it nudged a piece of paper towards her that it had probably brought, it wasn't an envelope but nonetheless it seemed that Jack had replied. It read simply: _If you really want to meet then be home tonight, I'll come_. Crystal let out a relieved breath that she hadn't even realized she'd been holding in, finally some good news. If he was open to meeting then maybe he'd be open to meeting Florian, which might spare Bertie. That was assuming she did still have a son to save.

Seeing she had nothing else to do besides her jobs that she was still completely ignoring, she hid the note along with the lid of the box with the newest location for Jack to meet Florian on the inside of it. She also made some sandwiches for Agnes and Flynn when they came in, it shouldn't be long now. She jolted again as there was another pop, spinning to see the man had returned. Except now he was covered in a spattering of red.

"Here," the man offered and tossed something to her, she caught it before glancing at it. It was a finger, a child's bloody finger. Crystal couldn't help but scream in horror as she dropped it, the man laughed and she looked back to see he was holding a second digit, "They've been charmed, squeeze that one when you want to summon us and we'll know from this one. If you find Florian then you'll get your brat back and if you don't then you don't get her back, there's only a limited amount of pieces especially in such a small body so I suggest you hurry."

"You sick bastard," Crystal sobbed and the man had his wand on her an instant, she felt the spell of pain again yet somehow the mental anguish of her daughter's pain was worse. Ivy had been whole before he'd left, she was sure.

_If you were a better mother then my daughter would still be unharmed, you worthless bitch,_ Bob's voice spat into her mind.

"Insult me again and you'll how sick I can be, muggle scum," the man said threateningly as he stopped the spell.

She looked back to him as the residual waves of pain rippled through her, she saw him take one of the sandwiches she'd made for her kids. He took a bite, his hands still sprayed with her daughter's blood before vanishing with another pop and taking the sandwich. Crystal caught sight of her daughter's bloody finger there on the floor where she'd dropped it, she pictured her poor little girl in pain and burst into tears. She had to pick herself up though, putting the finger away in the freezer so Agnes and Flynn wouldn't have to see it when they came in. They returned just after she sat down at the table when she was done putting it away, they both looked worried and she braced herself for more questions.

"It's going to be okay, Mummy," Flynn assured her instead as he hugged her tightly, "It's going to be okay."

"You don't even know what's wrong," Crystal couldn't help but point out and Flynn just squeezed her tighter.

"It doesn't matter what's wrong, Mummy, I know it'll be okay. We'll be okay, we always are. Ivy and Bertie too."

"Oh sweetheart," Crystal whispered as she hugged her son back, Agnes came over to hug her as well, "I love you both so much."

"We love you too," Agnes whispered as Crystal pulled away and mustered a smile for them.

"Just eat your sandwiches and go watch some TV, okay?"

"Do we live off sandwiches now?" Flynn wondered jokily.

"I just don't have time to cook right now."

Agnes and Flynn took the sandwiches and went to watch the television, Crystal hoped it would take their minds of things and wished she could do the same. She remained in the kitchen, ignoring phone calls about the work she was missing and waiting for John. She rested her head on her hands, her eyes stinging and memories playing over in her mind. She tried to remember the last time she'd felt at peace, felt as if things were okay. Those days were long gone, half a lifetime away now. She hadn't realized she'd been drifting into sleep until she heard a loud bang like a thunderclap, jolting to see John had returned.

"It's time," John said simply while Flynn and Agnes rushed in to see what the noise was, he scowled at them.

"Who are you?" Agnes demanded, somewhere between firmly and fearfully.

"Relax, this is just my… friend, John," Crystal offered uncertainly, not sure how else to describe him without having to elaborate, "Just go back to what you were doing, we need to have a grown up talk alone. Okay?"

"Okay, Mummy," Flynn agreed, he eyed John somewhat cautiously but nonetheless the kids went back into the front room while John turned on her.

"How many kids do you actually have?" John questioned of her.

"Five," Crystal admitted, "That was Agnes and Flynn, Bertie and Ivy are the ones missing then my eldest, Michael, just started his Sixth Year in Hogwarts."

"You have a sixteen year old son?" John scoffed, looking at her incredulously, "What did you have him when you were like twelve?"

"Sixteen," Crystal said, not for the first time as she got to her feet and wrapped her arms protectively around herself, "His father is the one Florian wants."

"A wizard?"

"No."

"No?" John repeated in surprise, "What does he want with a muggle then?"

"Jack… Jack kind of… sold his soul with a Specter and became one or something. I don't… I don't know what he wants with him, I didn't even realize others knew."

"You have the weirdest life," John sighed and shook his head, "Do you have anyone to watch the kids left or do you want me to bring them?"

"Bring them."

* * *

><p>"You know this is never going to work, right?" Joel taunted and Pyrrhus tore his eyes away from the magic two-way conversation mirror he was staring at it, "It's been four days now. If the woman knows where Jack is then she doesn't care enough to tell you."<p>

"Maybe she just needs time," Pyrrhus insisted and went back to watching the mirror because he didn't want to look as his brother, usually he used it for staying in contact with Carver but now he was using it to watch the most recent location he'd given as the meeting place. It was safer to keep switching it.

"Face it, Pyrrhy, it's a dead end. We both know Mothers abandon their sons."

"Not all mothers."

"Yours, mine, Oathan's, Alzay's. Can you even name a mother who hasn't abandoned her child?"

"Carver's mother?" Pyrrhus offered testily, throwing another look at his dead brother. Not sure why he kept engaging his hallucination, if it was anything like feeding like birds then it was just encouraging insanity to stay.

"She ditched him plenty of times, it was her husband convinced her it was proper to keep her son. She threw him to the curb pretty fast when he was accused of being a Shadow too."

"Oh go to hell and die."

"I already died and I can't go to hell, Brutus destroyed my soul," Joel pointed out cheerfully, "You're stuck with me, brother. My little, mad brother."

"Does your Daddy usually talk to people that aren't there?" Bertie's small voice asked from across the room and Pyrrhus glanced over at the two boys, who apparently thought just because they were in a vacant muggle home – freshly built and for sale – rather than a hotel room that he couldn't hear across the room.

"Not usually," Oathan admitted and Bertie flinched when he noticed Pyrrhus looking, he turned back to his mirror, "You don't have to be scared of my Daddy, you know, he's really nice."

"Nice people don't take children away from their families."

"He has a point, you know?" Joel pointed out.

"I never said I was a nice person," Pyrrhus countered truthfully, "There's no such thing as a nice person. Everyone is bad. Everyone. Only infants are innocent and that's just because they don't know anything, they're infants."

"Daddy has beended nice to you, Daddy has not hurt you," Oathan's voice drew him back to the children's conversation, "He's nice and he's trying to stop the war and get peace for us, some of the times you have to do bad things to make a good thing happen."

"I don't care about the war, I miss my family," Bertie whimpered, the kid was such a crybaby. Oathan was younger and had been through worse but he wasn't that bad, Oathan must just be stronger he realized, "I just want to go home."

"Well it's your family's fault that you're not home. My Daddy would letted you go home if they just do what he wants, maybe your Mother just doesn't want you back. Mothers are like that."

"No, they're not!" Bertie insisted with an unusual burst of determination, "Mummy's love their children."

"Do not," Oathan spat and Pyrrhus spared a glance to see his son pointing to the scars on his face, "See these? My _Mother_ did that to me and I have more scars under beneath my shirt that she gived me."

"Your own Mother?" Bertie repeated, his little jaw dropping in absolute shock at this revelation. Oathan nodded.

"My own Mother. When I turned two, she scarred the Shadow Mark on me – which really, _really_ hurts - and hurted my face when I struggled. She left me in a bad place where they hurt Oathan. And when I turned three, she hurted my face again when I begged her to let me go home," Oathan recounted with his watery, "Maybe they don't want you back. Mothers don't love their children."

"I'm sorry your Mummy hurted you," Bertie offered, sounding sincere before swallowing and gesturing to the scars he had from Greyback, "But do you know how I got _my_ scars?"

"A werewolf. Fenrir Greyback."

"He camed to our house, I don't know how he got but the sound woke me and I went downstairs. Greyback was attacking my family, he hitted my Daddy's legs and he crawled into the basement. He closed the door behind him and locked it with my sisters and brother banging on the door begging to be let in so they would be safe too," Bertie told him in a quieter tone, looking upset, "And do you know where my Mummy was?"

"No."

"Jumping in front of them to protect my sisters and brother, Greyback was hitting her with his claws over and over and she was screaming and screaming but she didn't move. She didn't move because she wanted to protect her children not hide and leave us to die," Bertie recounted, fresh tears leaking from his eyes and his voice cracked, "They think I am too young to rememrember but I can't forget. Then Mummy went quiet, she was so hurt she fell asleep and Greyback lifted his claws again and lifted them high."

"He was going to kill her?" Oathan guessed, possibly correctly but Bertie ignored it.

"But Agnes jumped in the way to protect Mummy and half her face got hit instead, there was so much blood. Then Flynn threwed a lamp at Greyback and yelled to run, Greyback went for him and we ran for the front door but it wouldn't open. Greyback hit Flynn aside and ran for us instead, Ivy pushed me behind her and told me to go back upstairs. He got her then chased me too and then it was over. Most horrible, scariest night of my whole entire life," Bertie concluded and tried to wipe at his streaming tears, "But it made me know something good. My family is a family that will fight for each other and protect each other. I know they love me and want me back just like I know I feel the same about them, and I know my Mummy will try to protect me until she gets so hurt she goes asleep."

"Carver's right, you know? Crystal's a dead end on finding Jack," Joel spoke up again and Pyrrhus averted his eyes while his son tried to comfort Bertie, "Face it. You took a mad gamble and it didn't pay off. You've never going to find Jack Thorne, without him you'll never be able to make Antonius strong enough to stand a chance against the Shadow Master. You may as well return the boy then come back here, kill Oathan and yourself. You can't run forever and you can't protect him forever, maybe death will be kinder to you then life. You'll finally be free of me and Dad and all the other crap that's happened to you, and Oathan will die innocent not a mad, bad, broken wreck like you."

"I'm not giving up," Pyrrhus insisted, not ready to throw in the towel although tears did prick his eyes, "But maybe Crystal is a dead end. Bertie!"

Pyrrhus jumped up and the boy jumped even higher, he grabbed him by the shoulder and led him outside. He apparated them both back to his home, expecting to see Crystal getting the happiest surprise of her life to find her youngest some home, unhurt and free. She wasn't there though. He did a quick run through of the house and found it empty. He decides to show mercy and she couldn't even be bothered to stay in the house? Who did that?! He couldn't very well leave the boy alone so he returned them back to the vacant house.

"Sorry, Bertie, false alarm," Pyrrhus offered as he released the sniffling boy back to his son and picked up the mirror, glad to see Joel was gone. So much for that idea but he had tried.

* * *

><p>"Tell them not to leave anything behind that they want, they might not be able to come back here," John told her after filling him in and having sending Agnes and Flynn off to pack.<p>

"Why not?" Crystal wondered in surprise and John looked slightly incredulous.

"What do you think the Soul Eaters are going to do when this is done?" John questioned of her, "Do you really think if you do everything they want that they'll just give you back your children and live happily ever after?"

"I… Yes? No? I don't know," Crystal stammered out uncertainly and wrapped her arms around herself protectively, John's expression remained as unreadably stoic as ever, "I guess I haven't really thought about it."

"You and your children will just be a loose end when you've outlasted your purpose, memory charms can be broken but the dead can't talk. They'll kill you and the girl they took at the very least."

"What… What makes you think that?"

"Because I was a Death Eater, this is what we would've been told to do," John said seriously and Crystal's eyes drifted to his arm where he had the mark, "I know Selwyn, he's cruel, merciful and thorough. If he's in charge of this operation then he'll definitely be ready to kill you."

"Did you ever do anything like this when you were a Death Eater?" Crystal asked worriedly and John hesitated before replying.

"Not this exact situation, no. But this is what they will do, trust me. And even if you don't believe me, Bambi, do you really think it's wise to stay in a place that they know your location?"

"So what, I should… I should go into hiding?" Crystal wondering, thinking it sounded insane.

"If you want your children to live," John said seriously and she sighed.

"I'll think about it."

"Think fast and move faster," John offered as Crystal went to pass the world along to her kids and pack herself, for Ivy and Bertie too.

She returned when they were done and John teleported them away one by one, still wondering whether it was to trust a man who admitted to being part of a group who apparently mercilessly killed families who were loose ends. She still found herself failing to think of another option though. She wasn't sure where she'd been expecting John to take them but she hadn't expected it to be a dump, some old farmhouse with a roof so badly patched it looked almost like a quilt. The windows were all boarded up or cracked and it didn't improve up close, the wood the place was made up of looked gritty and unfinished, rotting or rotten.

If she'd thought it might be a magical cover for a nice interior, she'd also have been wrong. Inside had the same rotted wood for the walls, floorboards, doors, door and window frames, even the ceiling looked just like the floorboards from upstairs. There was a sagging fireplace with a smoldering fire inside it, a table and couch – also with rotted wood – which had upholstery on it at least and there were two other doors leading off. On the table was a steaming black cauldron, an assortment of random items consisting mostly of stuff she'd seen in apothecaries but there was also, bandages, parchment – a map upon closer inspection – and a knife. There were several stacks of boxes littered around as well as if John was in the process of moving, her children didn't look impressed.

"Nice place," Crystal said politely and John grunted.

"It's okay, I know it's a dump," John admitted as he strode straight over to the cauldron as if to check on it, "This is what you're left with when the Ministry takes your family's money as reparations for their crimes."

"Why don't you kids go have a look around?" Crystal offered to them, they spared her a glance but said nothing as they wondered out, "If that's okay with you."

"It's fine. There's nothing to see away," John brushed it off as he stirred the cauldron.

Crystal set down her bags and started over to him, she paused only when she noticed the contents of one of the boxes. Some old children's things, some stuffed animals, picture – moving ones – books and dolls. She picked up the largest doll in surprise, she wouldn't have thought a little girl lived here.

"Do you have a daughter?" Crystal wondered curiously.

"No," John shot it down immediately and she scowled in confusion, John must have noticed as he elaborated, "I had a niece. I raised her since she was four years old."

"Is she in Hogwarts?" Crystal guessed and pain flashed in John's eyes, he kept them on the potions.

"She died in Hogwarts. The attack a few months ago."

"I'm sorry," Crystal offered with a rush of sympathy as she put the doll back down, John shrugged it off but his eyes still looked sad as he tended the potion. She walked over to him, "What was she like?"

"She was a good kid," John said quietly as he sprinkled some yellow dust into the potion and stirred it, "Makes me almost wish I'd raised her to be a worse person, maybe if she'd tried to save herself instead of random students stuck outside then she'd still be alive. It's always the good ones who die."

"Yeah," Crystal muttered, wondering if Michael would be in such bad shape if he was a more selfish person, "But at least you can be proud."

"Yeah," John murmured and nodded slightly as he dropped in some purple stuff, "I'll have to cut you with a knife to get your blood and the wound can't be healed, when it closes it won't track them anymore."

"Have you ever done this before?"

"Once. I used it to find my niece," John told her and finally spared her a glance, she looked at him with interest, "I was a Death Eater, I did ten years for my crimes. All my family was Death Eaters, my grandfather and father died in the wars though so it was just my brothers and I. I gave myself up while they fled, my eldest brother eventually died when they caught up to him and tried to arrest him and my middle brother was arrested himself just before I was released. He got life. He told me about his daughter, he begged me to find her when I got out and make sure she was okay because he didn't think her mother would care for her. I used this spell to find her."

"Did it work?" Crystal asked with a mixture of hope for her children and curiosity.

"Yep. Found her abandoned, her muggle mother had locked her in a closest and left her to die. She has half-dead when I found her, starved and dehydrated. Her fingers were bloody from clawing at the door to try get out, she was so weak and frightened of dying alone in the dark… And I promised I'd take care of her, keep her safe…"

"That's horrible," Crystal stated when John trailed off, feeling quite sick at the thought of someone doing that to their child.

"It was. But my point was spell will locate them even if they're in a bad state," John pointed out as he went over to the door her kids and left through.

"What happened to her father?"

"Killed himself in Azkaban," John said bluntly and picked up the knife, he dipped it in the potion and lifted it out now with a watery sheath around it, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," Crystal confirmed with a deep breath as she rolled up her sleeve, offering her arm to him. He took her wrist and held the blade to her forearm, she tried to brace herself but John hesitated as he glanced at her, "What's wrong?"

"You know this will hurt, right?"

"And you think I've never been hurt before?" Crystal scoffed and John slowly turned back to the knife, she bit her tongue to stop herself crying out as the blade tore through her arm. John held her arm over the cauldron, letting the crimson liquid fall in, "Is that enough?"

"No, it needs quite a bit," John shook his head while the cut continued to sting painfully and the potion hissed with the addition, "What happened to their father?"

"What?"

"The father of your younger kids."

"He erm… He went to jail and my ex-boyfriend killed him there," Crystal offered, starting to feel a bit light-headed from the blood loss.

"Why was he in jail?"

"H-He was abusive to my eldest son and I."

"Did he beat him?"

"Yes," Crystal admitted guiltily.

"Did he beat you?"

"Y-Yes," Crystal mumbled, not wanting to talk about it.

"Did he rape you?" John asked and Crystal could only flinch, John moved her arm away and started to bandage her arm, "That's enough."

"Okay," Crystal muttered, still feeling woozy and John helped her to sit down as he bandaged her arm, "Did… Did it work?"

"Let's find out."

John took a deep breath as he stood and returned to the cauldron, he waved his wand over it and started speaking words she didn't understand. It had stopped steaming and abruptly he slashed his wand through the air, the potion lurched out of the cauldron. The liquid was the color of blood and spiraled out like some kind of crimson snake, it disintegrated in the air and rained down on the map. John peered over it, breathing heavily as he scanned it.

"One in Hogwarts, two here which means the other two dots are the locations of your missing children," John said, sounding almost as if he was speaking to himself now, "One in a town, which I'd guess Florian, and one more isolated out in the country, which I'd guess Soul Eaters. At any rate, we got them. You're getting your children back tonight."


	12. VI: Many Happy Returns

_**Thanks to:** Colin Creevey, Cal and green aura for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_Why is rojer so mean though?  
><em>**_In regards to not letting th__em in the class, he viewed it as a fair punishment since they were causing conflict._ _He does__n't like figh__ting or bullying and won't tolerate it_**_  
><em>**

**_When will Alchemy start dealing with the soul?  
><em>**_At some point soon...ish, it will be dealt wit__h gradually and I don't have a specific chapter/date to tell you_**_  
><em>**

_**Don't understand tho why John said it was Dark magic... is it 'cause it meddles with blood?**_  
><em>Yes, its dark because it needs blood and the wound(s) needs to be untreated because it stops working when it closes<em>

_** Could it be that a new relationship is forming there?** _  
><em>Could be, could not be<em>

* * *

><p>John gave Crystal some Blood-Replenishing potion before teleporting her back home to wait for Jack, she just sat at the kitchen table and tried to keep her eyes open. She was still feeling weak from blood loss and cold, John said she had to pace herself with the potion. Jack hadn't exactly specified when he would show up but she felt increasingly anxious he wouldn't appear at all, she wasn't entirely convinced he'd show in the first place. She'd given John her phone to ring him from the house phone if Jack appeared, she wasn't sure how it fit into his plans if Jack didn't show up. She was afraid to hope John was right.<p>

"Hey," a familiar voice said from behind her and Crystal stood, spinning in shock.

Sure enough, there was Jack Thorne standing behind her. He looked exactly the same as the last time she'd seen him, she wasn't sure why she was surprised. He had the same sapphiric eyes set in a handsome face, dark unruly hair that he kept short and a muscular build. He was dressed casually, jeans and a leather jacket. Nothing about his appearance indicated what he'd done, what he'd become. Looks could be deceiving though.

"Jack," Crystal breathed as she drank in his appearance, still surprised to see him and starting to feel hurt at what he'd done, "I can't believe you really came."

"I still love you, Crystal, I'll always come if you call," Jack assured her gently as he approached, Crystal wrapped her arms protectively around herself before he smirked, "_Please, you nearly chickened out several times."_

"Are you still killing criminals?" Crystal blurted out before he could argue more with himself.

_Of course they are, everyone you screw ends up being a psycho,_ Bob's voice scoffed inside her head, _Things get worse, people get worse. They only get worse. Life goes down not up, if you weren't such a stupid piece of trash then you'd know this_

"We realized that we don't have to kill criminals, we can already see the colors of people's souls. We already know who's good and bad. We only destroy the souls of those who aren't pure, white souls so it's okay," Jack told her and Crystal squeezed her eyes shut, her heart twisting in pain at what he'd become. He'd been nice once, they'd been happy once, "_You're in more perpetual anguish than usual, why did you call us here? Is something the matter?"_

"Pyrrhus Florian is looking for you," Crystal said with a sigh as she opened her eyes, "He took Bertie, he won't give him back unless I find you."

"_What does he want with us?"_

"I have no idea. But I have an address you're supposed to meet him, please go to him."

"_Are you mad?"_ Jack scoffed, "_You want us to risk our life to meet a lunatic and for what? Bertie isn't even the one that's Jack's son, he's Bob's. Why should we care?"_

"Because he's still _my_ son, my baby boy," Crystal protested, feeling tears prick her eyes at his words, "If you really care about me at all then you'll please do this for me."

"Of course I really care about you, we'll do it," Jack assured her before scowling, "_No, we won't. Jack, Bertie was the one we wanted to kill, he's not your son. Why should we risk a trap to save this child?"_

"Why not?" Jack snapped angrily at himself, "Do you fear Pyrrhus Florian, One? _Of course I don't! _Then why not?! We have nothing to fear from him! We can destroy his soul if he tries to harm us, we can save Bertie. It's no risk for us anyway."

"_I still don't see the point_," Jack insisted testily as he folded his arms, "_Why waste time on this?_ Because I want to help Crystal. _Well I don't._ We'll get to destroy a soul. _We just did that yesterday, we can live a few days without it. I'm enjoying learning to swim. Have you ever swam before, Crystal? It really is quite the sensation_."

"I-I have," Crystal stammered out uncertainly, finding him talking to himself quite disturbing and harder to distinguish between Jack and… One.

"Don't speak to her," Jack hissed at himself, "And I can't believe you're turning down a soul. _You're so much more willing to destroy them now that I don't have to worry about starving, instead I can focus on enjoying life_. Well maybe if you don't do this then I'll stop being so willing. _No, you won't_. Fine, I won't but I'll keep nagging you. Try enjoying life then. _Alright, let's get this over with then."_

_"Do we get a kiss as a reward for heroically saving the boy? Been awhile since we did that, that's pretty fun," _Jack wondered with a smile before his expression flashed to one of anger, "Don't speak to her! We'll save Bertie and save him just because I care."

"Thank you," Crystal muttered, grateful, disturbed and saddened all at the same time. She picked up the box lid, showing him - or them - the address, "That's where he wants you to meet him."

"We'll be back soon," Jack assured her before he vanished in a haze of darkness.

"What have you become?" Crystal asked of the silence with a sad sigh as she went to pick up the phone, punching in the numbers to the phone she'd given John. He didn't answer though, there was just a thunderous crack and he appeared, "Why does everyone teleport quieter then you?"

"Apparating. It's called apparating, not teleporting," John insisted and she noticed he'd changed into wizarding robes, black, "And I can't help it. I taught myself because I dropped out of Hogwarts to join the Death Eaters before they could teach me, I can do it but not as good or as quiet as most."

"Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it," Crystal offered truthfully, it had been an idle question and she was feeling a bit light-headed, "Jack just came and left to go see Florian, I think."

"Okay then now's the time," John said more confidently and went over to the cabinets, he withdrew a mug and a bottle from his robes that he poured into the cup before striding back over, "You need to summon the Shadows now, give them the location of the meet. They should go there, less will stay behind to guard the girl. I'll retrieve her first since she's the one guarded, Bertie should be unprotected when he leaves so I'll get him second. I'll take them back to my home, leave them with their siblings then return for you. Okay?"

_It's going to fail, you know? Nothing ever goes right for dumb whores like you,_ Bob's voice taunted in her mind.

"Okay," Crystal nodded although still afraid to believe it would work and John handed her the mug, "What's this?"

"If the Shadow tries to kill you, throw it over them," John told her and she eyed the clear liquid worriedly, "I can't be in multiple places at once to protect you."

"What will it do?" Crystal asked nervously as she glanced back to the stoic face and met his harsh cerulean eyes.

"What needs to be done," John answered after a moment's hesitation.

"I erm… I don't think I want this," Crystal admitted, suspecting it did something bad as she tried to hand it back to him but he pushed it back to her and held her hands over the mug.

"My niece is dead," John stated bluntly, "She was all I had left in the world, all that mattered to me. And she's dead. Gone forever because _they_ killed her. I'd do _anything_ if it meant she'd be alive, whatever it takes, whatever the cost. You'll regret what you didn't do if your children die a lot more then you'll regret what you did do if your children live, would you rather your children live or the monsters who are willing to hack your children into tiny pieces?"

"My children," Crystal whispered with a pounding heart and John took a step back as he let her go, "Whatever it takes."

* * *

><p>Pyrrhus Florian finished tucking Oathan into bed and gave him a kiss on the forehead, his three year old smiled at him as he closed his eyes to sleep. Pyrrhus stood with a sad sigh, wishing his father's way of saying goodnight could've been normal like that. He glanced over at Bertie's bed to make sure he was in it, he was lying on his side watching him and quickly slammed his eyes shut when he caught Pyrrhus looking. Pyrrhus shook his head as he wandered back over to his spot, he sat cross-legged on the table and took his mirror back out to watch for signs of life before he'd have to try catch a few z's himself.<p>

He wasn't expecting to see anything, especially after finding Crystal's home empty when she'd tried to return Bertie earlier. He turned out to be phenomenally wrong though as he caught a glimpse of a man in the abandoned warehouse, he matched the description for Jack Thorne. Pyrrhus scrambled to get up excitedly and made sure his magical enchantments were still in place to protect the boys - as well as to make sure Bertie couldn't escape – before heading out, leaving his mirror behind and apparating to the warehouse. There was no time to waste, mostly because he was afraid of Jack leaving before he had a chance to speak to him.

"Jack Thorne, I presume?" Pyrrhus questioned cheerfully as he appeared, his eagerness shining through and he grinned as the man spun to face him, "And One, of course."

"_Thank you for noticing_," Jack said with a grin before his expression soured and his voice changed slightly, "That would make you Pyrrhus Florian then?"

"The one and only," Pyrrhus confirmed with a flourishing bow, "We have much to discuss."

"The only thing I'm interested in discussing is the return of Crystal's son."

"No, that's not very important but-"

Pyrrhus had started to brush it off when Jack disappeared into the shadows, he reappeared right in front of him before he had time to panic. Jack lashed out immediately with an unnaturally strong punch, Pyrrhus was thrown violently backwards and smacked painfully against the wall. He groaned in pain, wondering why people had to be so violent and felt fear creeping in over his delight at finding the man he'd been looking for. Jack was a _man_, he didn't like being alone with them. He got to his feet and jumped as Jack reappeared in front of him yet again, his fist already in motion to smash Pyrrhus' face into the wall. His skull was ringing as he crumpled to the ground, trying to decide whether it was wise to fight back against someone he wanted as an ally. He decided against it as a show of good faith.

"The only thing I'm interested in is returning Crystal's son to her! Where is he?!" Jack yelled, punctuating every single word with a vicious kick to his chest or stomach, "_I'm not, I couldn't care less but I am enjoying your pain."_

"Not until you hear me out," Pyrrhus insisted as he got back to his feet, resisting the urge to cringe at the throbbing and aching pain coming from his front now. It hurt to breathe too, a rib or two might've been cracked unhelpfully. Jack raised his fist again, "And hitting me is not going to allow me to talk any faster!"

"_What do you want then?"_ Jack wondered as he folded his arms, an eyebrow rising, "_You trying to kill us to get back into the Soul Eaters good books?"_

"No," Pyrrhus scoffed, "Quite the opposite. I have a plan to kill the Shadow Master and I need you."

"_Are you as really mad as they say? You think you can kill the Shadow Master? And you really think we'd risk fighting one of only two people in the world with the power to destroy us?"_

"I didn't say anything about us going up against the Shadow Master personally," Pyrrhus pointed out and Jack looked a bit more interested, still angry but slightly interested, "My plan involves us weakening her enough so that Calderon could kill her, he's the one who has to fight her. All we do is weaken her from afar and throw him out to fight her, he was willing at Hogwarts and he'd be willing again. He'd win if we weakened her, at the very least die destroying them both. Wouldn't you like that? The two people in the world with the power to destroy you dying? The war ending and your son being safe from it?"

"I'm listening," Jack admitted, slightly dubiously but still listening all the same.

Pyrrhus launched into an explanation of his plan, trying to get through it as quickly as possible. He stopped abruptly when he heard a slight popping sound, he froze midsentence and wandlessly acciod his mirror to his pocket as he noticed the shadows shifting and footsteps from outside. The Shadows had probably tracked him again or possibly Jack, they were probably surrounding the place. He tried to apparate just to test it and found himself incapable, they'd put up wards to trap him.

Jack also seemed to be listening to the footsteps and small pops as they gathered, Pyrrhus opened his mouth to ask if he was staying to fight or not because it would change the strategy. No sooner had he done that though then the doors and windows burst open, Jack grabbed him roughly and in the next instance they were hurtling through space. Cold, dark space but space nonetheless. They reappeared in the middle of nowhere, Pyrrhus wasn't sure where they were exactly but he was sure it was quite far from wherever they had been.

"You saved me," Pyrrhus pointed out, somewhat surprised by this.

"Give Crystal back her healthy, unhurt son - make sure to apologize too - and we're in, for now. If he's hurt we're not in and if he's dead then we'll kill you," Jack agreed reluctantly with a sigh, "Thousands have died already, millions of people are enslaved. Seven lives to end the war is a small price comparatively, even if one of those is a child, several are teenagers and one is Michael's best friend. Michael may be upset but at least he will be alive to be upset, Crystal too. Sacrifices must be made to protect the ones you love."

* * *

><p>John left with another thunderclap and Crystal returned to the kitchen, putting the mug of strange potion and retrieving the grisly finger the Shadow man had given her. She sat down with the chair facing away from the table and resisted the urge to vomit as she squeezed it, she felt her heartbeat pounding in her ears with each passing second. Finally there was a pop and the heavyset man from before appeared before her, he hadn't changed out of his robes still spattered with her daughter's blood. Crystal slid the lid across the table to him.<p>

"Pyrrhus Florian is meeting someone there now," Crystal informed him as the man picked up the lid and glance at the address, "Now give me my daughter back."

"We have to see if this checks out first," the man growled before disappearing once again.

_This will never work, you know?_ Bob's voice taunted in her mind, _She's dead. Bertie's dead. They're dead now, long gone from this world. Our children are dead because of you, you're so worthless you failed to protect him_

"Good news, scum," the man spat as he returned with another pop, "Your tip proved to be correct."

"So I get my daughter back?" Crystal wondered hopefully.

"You get her back, it'll just be on the other side," the man told her with a cruel smirk that sent a chill through her bones, "The only question that remains is how painfully I can make your death because I like killing muggle filth like you. And which of you bitches I should kill first."

"Pl-Please," Crystal stammered out fearfully and her heart thundered as her trembling hands picked up the mug, she held it close to her, "Selwyn said if I found him…"

"The problem is that you know too much now, too much that you could spill to the Aurors and if we gave you your sweet little girl back then you'd have no reason to not tell them."

"I won't tell them, I promise," Crystal pleaded desperately as she gripped the mug tighter, wondering whether she'd be capable of throwing it at him or what he even did, "I'll do whatever you want."

"I know," the man smiled as he leaned over her, putting one hand on her thigh and aiming his wand at her with the other, "Because I'm going to kill you in such slow agony that you'll be begging me for death in the end and in that moment, I'll grant you your wish and kill your little girl, maybe make a crown out of the rest of her fingers for you to wear."

Crystal flicked the mug and the water-looking liquid was splashed onto the man's face, for the briefest of seconds he started to laugh as he staggered back. And then he started to scream. There was a horrible hissing and his face started smoking, the potion was like acid eating through his flesh. He fell to the ground screaming, wiping at his face to try to get the potion off but all it did was start to melt away his fingers too. Crystal wasn't sure compelled her to walk over and pour the rest over his head, his screaming intensified and then he was just dead.

Her insides churned, she felt physically sick at what she'd done but at the same time couldn't muster regret that he was dead. She clutched at her father's dog tags around her neck, wondering if he or her grandfather had ever killed anyone in the line of duty, wondering if John was killing anyone right now. She couldn't take her eyes off the corpse she'd killed, couldn't take her eyes off the gruesome mess of his flesh that was his face. She would've expected there'd be a horrible smell but it was more like bleach and something flowery, it reminded her a bit of tea tree oil. The silence was deafening, making it even more noticeable when she heard a pop. Crystal spun, expecting more Soul Eaters or Shadows or whatever they were called. It was the red-headed man though, Pyrrhus Florian, and he was gripping Bertie's shoulder.

"Mummy!" Bertie cried and Florian willingly let him go, he rushed towards her and Crystal enveloped him in her arms. She scooped him up, holding him so tightly as he sobbed into her shoulder and clung to her. She should've been happy but she couldn't take her eyes off Florian, fearful that he might decide to do as the man had, "Mummy."

"I apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your aid," Florian offered and she felt a fragment of frustrating fear for Jack.

"What about Jack?" Crystal risked asking, noticing his face looked bruised. John was right, it did make someone look less threatening, "Did you hurt him?"

"No, I want his help not his death," Florian scoffed as if it was obvious and his violently violet eyes flickered to the body behind her, he looked almost amused, "And if you want to avoid yours, I suggest your run. The Shadows will kill you if they find you."

On that note, Florian turned away and disappeared with another crack. Crystal finally allowed the relief to flood through her, drops spilling from her eyes as she held her son close and kissed the top of his head, muttering declarations of love into his hair. She never wanted to let him go again, she was half-afraid if she put him down then she'd lose him again. She was only distracted by a sound like a thunderclap, spinning again to see John had returned. In one hand he held his wand and in the other, he had Ivy.

"Mummy!" Ivy cried desperately and John set her down, revealing that side of his face was suffering from a jagged cut and bleeding freely. Crystal crouched down and Ivy ran to her in tears, her left hand was in a bloody bandage. Crystal hugged her daughter to her, holding both her children close, "And Bertie, you're okay."

"Come on," John said gruffly, "You can't stay here, more will come."

"But you killed them all."

"And more will still come when they give up going after Florian," John pointed out and his eyes flickered to the dead man, "Or when they realize he's missing."

"Okay," Crystal nodded as she stood, taking her children by the hand and walking back over to John, "Take them to the Agnes and Flynn."

"I can still only apparate one at a time, I told you I'm not good at it."

Ivy discarded her hand reluctantly to take John's, seeming more comfortable with him then Bertie who eyed him fearfully. Crystal supposed it made sense as he'd just saved her whereas Bertie didn't know him, he kept a vice-like grip on her hand as John teleport- _apparated_ away with Ivy. Crystal hated seeing her go but it would only be for a second. He returned a second later to get Bertie, she had to pry his hand off hers so John could take him.

John returned a final time but didn't immediately do anything, up close she noticed his robes had blood on them. The wound on his face continued down his neck and to his shoulder, it seemed worse there or maybe had been injured with something else. His forearm was burned and there was a gash on his left side, the rest of the blood didn't look it was his. It silenced her from complaining about the brutality of the acid potion, he'd saved her children and gotten hurt doing it. Gratitude overwhelmed the bad.

"Thank you," Crystal offered gratefully while John continued looking stoic, "Really, I can't thank you enough."

"I told you they'd try to kill you," John said instead, ignoring her words and gazing at the body, "I'm sorry."

"Whatever it takes, right?" Crystal muttered, not wanting to talk about it as her eyes also lingered on it.

"I'd recommend faking your death and torching this place, the ones who went after Florian will be back and I doubt they're the only ones. They might not believe you really died but fire will make it harder to trace you and I doubt they put enough value on you to put too much effort into finding you, long as you be careful then you should be able to hide from them."

"What will I do? Where will I go?" Crystal questioned fearfully although she already recognized it was something she would have to do.

"I don't know. I'm not the boss of your life, Bambi," John insisted almost irritably, "Just make up your mind before the Shadows show up or I pass out from my injuries, if not your kids will be on their own. One thing at a time."

"Okay, okay burn the place," Crystal nodded as the urgency returned to her and John flicked his wand, all around them started to light up with fierce flames. She sighed heavily and tearfully as he took her hand, disappearing in a thunderclap and leaving her home to burn.


	13. VI: Life Goes On

_**Thanks to:** Colin Creevey, green aura and Lucifersdaughter for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_What makes Florian so sure that Antonius can manage to disarm Sal?/Is Florian that sure of his plan?_**  
><em>Florian's unstable, desperate and hopeful, he has to make this plan work or he has nothing so he believes in it, he thinks he can overcome any obstacle because he has to<br>_

* * *

><p>"Well thanks a lot," Scorpius spat at Elm as the three of them headed down the tower, "You got us kicked out of the class. Why don't you just drop it, you jackass!"<p>

"Why don't _you_ just drop it!" Elm countered equally angrily as they reached the foot of the steps and he stalked off in another direction, "And take your dog with you!"

"Don't call my friend a dog!"

"I just did!" Elm yelled back as he rounded the bend, Scorpius seriously considering going after him and dueling but he was too afraid of Rojer noticing and kicking the out permanently.

"So… I completely missed what happened. Why did I just get myself kicked out of the class?" Maurice wondered curiously.

Scorpius could only sigh in frustration, annoyed at getting kicked out of the class and angry at Elm for insulting Michael. He spent the rest of the evening working on his animagi training, in too bad a mood to feel like hanging out with his friends. They'd probably just nag him about finding out who tried to kill him anyway. Michael filled him and Maurice in on what the lesson had been about anyway, it had been focused on some of the processes used in Alchemy. Scorpius supposed at least he hadn't missed anything on souls but he still wasn't happy about it, the last thing he wanted was to be on Rojer's bad side.

"So Michael," Albus spoke up at double Herbology first thing the next day when they were preparing pots to plant some rare seeds, "See anything you like?"

"What?" Michael wondered in confusion.

"_Girls. _We still need to get you a girlfriend, remember?" Albus prompted and Michael rolled his eyes, he pointed to a random Gryffindor girl Scorpius didn't know the name of, "What about her? She's cute, eh?"

"She has a boyfriend," Rose pointed out testily, unlike Abby she wasn't fond of Herbology. Or at least not having to get your hands covered in soil.

"Oh right, well what about her then?" Albus said instead and jabbed his finger at another girl Scorpius didn't know the name of.

"Also has a boyfriend."

"What about her?" Albus complained, pointing at yet another girl and Scorpius scowled to himself at how few names he'd bothered to learn the past five years, "Does she have a boyfriend too?"

"No but she's got a girlfriend."

"Her?" Albus wondered hopefully, pointing to the girl next to her.

"That would be her girlfriend," Abby pointed out and laughed as Albus threw up his hands in exasperation.

"How are we supposed to get Michael a girlfriend if all the pretty ones are taken?"

"Not everyone's taken, just the ones you're pointing at. Now she's single, so is she and her. I don't know them so they might be single," Abby offered as she gestured to some of the other girls in the room, one of whom he was happy to name as Etta Hayes from Alchemy class. Scorpius decided more teachers should make them say their names.

"Before you start picking me out a girlfriend, I'd like to point out that I don't want one and I'm not dating," Michael said firmly.

"It might be good for you, it's nice having someone."

"If he says he's not interested then you can't force him," Maurice spoke up, "Nor should you pressure him, dating only ends in pain."

"Maybe you both should get dates," Albus offered and if looks could kill, Maurice would've just murdered Albus, "What? It's been like six months or around them, you should get back out there and find someone else."

"It has not been six months and I should not get back out there!" Maurice snapped, glaring angrily at his friend, "I don't want someone else, I want Lenore."

"I'm sure Lenore would want you to move on," Rose added and Maurice turned his dark gaze to her instead.

"You may have hated Lenore but I loved her, if I ever want to date anyone else it will take more than a few freaking months! Don't you people understand that?!"

"Is there a problem?" Professor Longbottom asked as he came over.

"I want to sit somewhere else, Rose is being mean to me," Maurice decided and the professor gestured that was alright.

"You know, I'm starting to think Maurice has developed some kind of issue with me," Rose said with a sigh, Scorpius thought this may be possible and couldn't help but notice that Maurice seemed distracted and upset the rest of the lesson.

The rest of the day passed by better, teachers seemed to finally be moving on from the NEWT talks and on to doing actual work. Scorpius was glad to be doing things again and doing it well, in Transfiguration and Charms they started doing non-verbal magic which only Scorpius excelled at thanks to his training with Varanian. Only he and Maurice managed anything although in his classmates' defense, those particular lessons were just single ones. It was almost amusing though, doing spells they'd learned back in First Year nonverbally – or the rest of the class failing at it – which was quite nostalgic. It was a double edged sword though, actual work meant actual homework to go with it. He had a feeling those gaps in the schedule would not be as relaxing as Albus had hoped. And finally, the day ended with Scorpius trudging back up the staircase for the final class of the day which was again Alchemy. This time, the class – unfortunately still nine of them, Elm hadn't quit – remembered Rojer's warning yesterday and they went in and took their seats.

"You see, English? Doors are your friend," Rojer commented from his usual seat at the front of the class, he had a cauldron bubbling beside him and was chopping up some stems. He tossed the in before standing, "Since all of you are now here, this day you will learn the seven planetary aspects."

"Well we would have been here yesterday if you hadn't kicked us out," Elm grumbled unhappily, "Normal people give detentions, you know?"

"When I go to school, they punish with the whip. Could be worse so do not complain, just behave."

"That's barbaric," Elm complained while Rojer started drawing seven symbols on the board, Scorpius recognized a couple vaguely from the first lesson, "Where the hell did you go to school?"

"Bratuslaw Institution in Poland."

"Are you Polish?" Knight blurted out curiously and Rojer shook his head as he seemed to finish drawing his symbols.

"No but I go to wizard school there as a child," Rojer said as he turned back to them, "So does anyone know what are the seven planets?"

"Erm… Isn't there nine planets though?" Orhan Eklund spoke up nervously.

"Yes there are but in the past they were not discovered. They look at the stars and they notice some of them move, they call these wandering stars which in Ancient Greek is where the word planets come from so you know. They did not count Earth so we have Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn," Rojer informed them and pointed out the corresponding symbols as he spoke, "Mercury is easy to remember in English, is dominate the metal of the same name. Venus dominates Copper, Mars for Iron, Jupiter for Tin and Saturn for Lead. The last two are not planets as we know today but are count here, the Sun and the Moon for Gold and Silver respectively. They correspond to different organs also and influence the different things, this is important to remember when doing practical so I advise you to take note."

The class obliged and took notes as Rojer went through the planetary aspects, including giving examples. Rojer seemed to get bored though and got them starting to make one of the examples he'd mentioned, yet again making it through with them at a slow pace. Not that it felt slow, it wasn't something to rush through or at least not when they were still getting used to calcination or edulceration because Rojer seemed capable of going much faster. They didn't have time to finish it before the lesson's end so he taught them to transmute what they had so far into a solid substance to store it, Scorpius noticed again that Rojer's limping leg seemed to pain him. Once more they filed out with Rojer willing to put everything away, again Scorpius stayed behind to help Rojer with it all.

"Let me help with that," Scorpius volunteered and Rojer sighed.

"If you wish," Rojer muttered as they started carrying things over to the sink.

_I killed your father. I killed your father. I killed your father. I killed your father._

"Another good class," Scorpius complimented as Rojer filled up the sink, trying to sound cheerful and feeling quite determined to get on good terms with him.

"If you say so."

"And I erm… I… I wanted to apologize, you know for yesterday," Scorpius offered more nervously as Rojer started cleaning the things, Scorpius putting them away, "I think your punishment was pretty fair."

"I am glad you approve, I was so worry you would not," Rojer quipped dryly and Scorpius decided to just ignore it.

"And I hope you realize that I was only to defend my friend. Don't you think you should defend your friends?"

"Not in class."

"Fair enough," Scorpius nodded as he put away the last thing, he could see the logic in that. Scorpius caught Rojer rubbed his leg with a pained expression as he turned back, "Does your leg pain you?"

"All of the time. The injury cause chronic pain," Rojer admitted as he gestured to the door, "You can go now, it is done."

Scorpius left him to go join his friends for dinner, guilt gnawing at him once again. Rojer suffered chronic pain in his leg, it was no wonder he seemed so… bitter and… unfriendly. Maybe if he hadn't killed Ashylos then he'd know some way to ease his son's pain if not cure it completely, Ashylos had lived for a hell of a long time and seemed pretty knowledgeable. He wondered if Maurice had been right when he'd suggested Rojer had been tortured by Grindelwald's men, maybe Michael would have some idea of how to help. He'd murdered his father, the least he could do was something to help him in the present. He thought Ashylos would want that, he hadn't forgotten Rojer.

"Do you know Rojer's lame leg causes him constant pain?" Scorpius told his friends as he sat down with his friends, they collectively rolled eyes and threw limbs up in exasperation, "I'm serious about this-"

"Scorpius-" Michael started to say but Scorpius cut him off.

"-This is bad, we should help him. It's no wonder he's so unhappy if he's in pain all the time, Ashylos wouldn't want this-"

"Scorpius-"

"-I realize if it could be cured then he probably have been but there has to be something we can do, we can't just let him suffer-"

"Scorpius-"

"-And he mentioned they used the whip in the wizarding school he went to as punishment, do you think it's possible that could've had an impact on his leg somehow? And before you say it, I'm not obsessing over Rojer, I'm just being a good student-"

"Scorpius!" Michael snapped at him and Scorpius turned to him finally.

"What?!"

"The Shadow Master made his next move. Cairo, Egypt fell today," Michael told him and Scorpius groaned, letting his head fall into his hands, "Wow, you're talkative when you're obsessing."

Scorpius went to bed after his animagi training feeling rather unhappy, the Shadows had now launched their attack on Egypt and somehow he didn't think it would fare any better than Greece and Turkey had. If he couldn't help Rojer then the least he could do was be out there fighting the Shadows with Varanian and the rest of them, he wondered how what he was thinking and what he was planning. He wondered how Molly was doing and Latimer, if they'd learned anything, if they were helping. He was lying all cozy in bed while his girlfriend was out there risking her life, what kind of boyfriend did that? Not to mention all the others risking their lives fighting a war he was responsible for because he hadn't killed the Shadow Master when he'd had the chance, he hadn't even killed Brutus. What kind of person did that? What kind of person was he? And he couldn't even do anything, he was still bound by the trace.

Scorpius wasn't sure if he slept at all that night, he wasn't aware of sleeping and his string of thoughts ceasing but he also didn't feel exceptionally tired or anything. He trudged down to breakfast where Michael was reading a letter, his face twisted up in a scowl. He glanced up when Scorpius approached and handed the letter to him before he could ask what was going on, it was a short message but nonetheless shocking.

_Michael,_

_Soon you will probably be taken aside and informed that the little ones and I were killed in a fire, this is not true and we are all very much alive. There is too much to say in a letter, I will explain more when I see you in person so don't risk writing back and tell no one. I just wanted you to know in case you worried, take care and stay safe._

_Lots of love,_

_Crystal_

_PS: This is charmed to burn up a few minutes after reading so watch your fingers_

"What the hell?" Scorpius wondered and Michael could only shrug with an expression of astonishment as Maurice joined them.

"Why are you getting mail from Lenore's owl?" Maurice questioned suspiciously as he put a hand on the necklace, Scorpius handed him the letter which he quickly skimmed, "How odd. Still doesn't explain Lenore's owl."

"I'm pretty sure it wasn't Lenore's owl," Michael insisted as they sat, the letter incinerating and leaving no trace of itself as promised, "What the hell?"

"Well technically it's her uncle's but I'm quite sure."

"Why would your dead girlfriend's uncle be letting my mother use his owl?"

"Maybe it's just that," Scorpius offered as they started putting food onto their plates, "Lenore died, maybe he had no one to write to anymore so he sold it."

"Why would my mother have wanted to buy an owl when she is well aware you can pay for public ones?"

"Your own tend to be faster and more reliable."

"Fine but how would _she_ know that?" Michael questioned in exasperation, "Crystal doesn't know a lot about owls or magic. How could she even afford it? Money's tight."

"I think it's possible he sold the owl. What I'm curious about is how the letter was charmed, a muggle is not capable of that so she must have gotten someone to do it for her," Maurice spoke up, sounding intrigued, "An owl you can buy but someone to charm the letter is a bit more difficult and if you claim she didn't know a lot about these things, someone must have told her about it and who would do that? She might've hired an independent investigator to help her fake her death."

"And that is what I really want to know, why will people think they died in a fire anyway?! What possible reason would she have for faking her death?! What is she planning on doing?! And the little ones have school, what about that?!" Michael demanded and rubbed his temple, "They're _muggles_, what could possibly be going on to cause this? It's not even been a week since I left! What could've happened in less than a week?!"

"Maybe Jack returned and threatened them?" Maurice wondered and Michael sighed heavily, looking upset.

"I guess anything is possible," Michael muttered and unenthusiastically started on his food, "Why not?"

After breakfast they had double Charms first thing, the nonverbal magic continued to be a struggle for those not he or Maurice although Rose and a handful of others did make their feather flutter once or twice by the end of the lesson. His friends then had a free while he, Maurice and Michael trudged back to Rojer's tower for the only morning Alchemy lesson although it was still a double. For once Rojer was not sitting at the front of the class when they sat down, instead he limped in from the other two that wasn't the store cupboard which Scorpius would guess led to his quarters. He was looking grumpier then usual and sat down with a hand over his mouth as he yawned, he rubbed his eyes.

"Are you tired?" Knight inquired worriedly and Rojer turned to him with his head propped up on an elbow.

"I is not use to wake up so early, who is wake up at such an ridiculous hour?" Rojer grumbled as he rubbed his eyes again.

"Erm… Its half past ten in the morning," Martin Hargrave pointed out.

"And? Who wake up in the morning?"

"Erm… Everyone?"

"Everyone is stupid," Rojer complained and let his head fall into his hands, "I am being too old for this."

"How old are you?" Knight blurted out curiously.

"Eighty-nine."

"Are you sure you don't mean _forty_-nine?" Elm wondered, the class not looking convinced, "I don't know how it is in Poland but in English eighty is a very high number, there's no way you're_ that_ old. You're not even gray."

"I mean eighty," Rojer insisted incredulously and moved his head off his hand, "I know what the numbers are and what age I am."

"Are we carrying on with what we started yesterday?" Nott questioned as Rojer rubbed his eyes again.

"No, we can do this tomorrow," Rojer shook his head vigorously, "For today, I want you to look at the Alchemy books that you should of gotten for the class. Pick a chapter, whichever of the chapters interest you most. Read it and then write an essay about what you learn, if you do not finish in lesson then you can finish on your own time. Now do this, read in silent but you can talk to yourselves when you are writing if you still are working."

The class begrudgingly pulled out text books and started skimming for the most interesting thing, no chapter titles immediately jumped out as being about soul so he settled for one about Albus Dumbledore. It talked about his discovery of the twelve uses for Dragon's blood and work with arguably the most famous Alchemist, Nicolas Flamel. Scorpius half-expected Rojer to fall asleep, he seemed about to nod off and drummed is fingers idly on the table while they read but by the time Scorpius had started writing, Rojer had acquired a deck of cards and was starting to construct a house of cards with them. Nott and Knight talked amongst themselves as they worked, Orhan and Martin too but the others didn't. Michael was still reading and Maurice hadn't put a hand to his translator necklace, seeming absorbed in the work so Scorpius worked in silence until the bell went for lunch.

"Go on now," Rojer offered without looking, gesturing to the door for them to start filing out and immediately returning to his large intricate house of cards.

"Cool house of cards," Knight commenting, sounding impressed.

"This is no house, this is the palace of cards."

"Very true," Knight laughed cheerfully as he left, giving Rojer a wave of farewell, "See you tomorrow."

"Nice palace," Scorpius told him, hanging behind as the others left despite his friends' eye rolls.

"If you say this," Rojer shrugged, still intensely focused and Scorpius still stood, "There is nothing to pack up, you realize this?"

"Yes I realized, I just erm… noticed there didn't seem to be any chapters about souls."

"There will be soul mention but Rayan teach the basics so the books he choose is basics, soul is more advance. The first fundamental law of magic is 'tamper with the deepest of the mysteries – the source of life, the essence of self – only if prepared for consequence of the most extreme and dangerous' and so soul magic is highly illegal, difficult and is associated with the Dark Magic because of this. The books on it tend to be more specialize."

"Right."

"Why is your interest in this?" Rojer questioned curiously while still working on his card palace.

"I err… my-my friend, his soul was… damaged. That's where I met Rayan, he was… helping," Scorpius stammered out as he was taken by surprise by Rojer's curiosity, something occurred to him as he said the words though as he recalled the meeting.

_"…Stuff about souls is taught in Alchemy?" _

_"It's a branch of it, one not often looked into for obvious reasons but yes," Rayan had answered quite willingly, "A good friend of mine knows more about it then I do though, however my knowledge will hopefully be sufficient enough to help your friend…"_

"Right," Rojer nodded, still focused on the cards.

"You know, Rayan mentioned he had a friend who knew more about it then he did," Scorpius prompted and caught Rojer's eyes flickering to him, "That was you, wasn't it?"

"Maybe. I do not know Rayan's mind," Rojer shrugged and leaned back in his chair, finally giving him his attention, "I do know a lot about soul magic though, like you have interest. He did speak to me about this and I advise and your friend lives."

_"…Why doesn't your friend just help?" Scorpius questioned and Rayan laughed before it became a cough, quite a viscous one at that._

_"My friend is not the most social. He has a brilliant mind and is a brilliant man - at least when you get to know him - but he... he is quite the Timonist. I'd have to be on my death bed for him to step foot outside his home..."_

"How is Rayan?" Scorpius asked, worried suddenly that the man was actually on his death bed and Rojer's face registered surprise at the change in subject.

"He is… He is not so well," Rojer admitted, a hint of concern in his usual dry tone, "His wife is with him, she is very worry."

"I hope he'll be okay, he seemed nice and I never got to thank him for saving my friend's life," Scorpius offered truthfully and Rojer nodded, his gaze drifting off sadly. He wanted to ask more but he thought he had taken the conversation the wrong way for that.

"He is a good man, he was happy to help. He is very kind, he always like to help people."

"All the more reason he deserves the thanks," Scorpius pointed out as he turned to leave and Rojer waved his hand, reducing the cards to dust, "I'll see you tomorrow."


	14. VI: The Tryout

_**Thanks to:** Cal and Colin Creevey for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_Where will crystal go now?_**  
><em>Right now she's staying with John<em>

* * *

><p>Sure enough, the next day Michael was taken aside to see the Headmaster where he was informed his family had died in a fire. They didn't know any more then that so Michael had nothing more to go off of in figuring out what had really happened to his family, they neither knew nor cared the specifics of the fire or anything useful. Scorpius supposed it could be worse, at least they were alive. Michael still had to endure people offering their condolences and teachers being surprised he was in class, assuring him they understood if he wanted to sit it out. He either had to fake sadness or come across as heartless, he just had to stick to the claim of wanting to keep busy to take his mind off it.<p>

Rojer alone didn't say anything which Michael seemed pleased with as they finished up the elixir they'd making beforehand, something that was originally lead that was used to repair the enamel of teeth since teeth was one of the things lead corresponded to for Saturn. The lesson ended just after that, first week of classes complete. Except for people who had Astronomy but Scorpius wasn't one of them. They started to file out and once again, Scorpius stayed behind with the intention of helping pack up and this time Michael also stayed to ask for an extension on his essay due to his Dyslexia. Knight stopped him though.

"Hey Michael, I um… I wanted to say I heard about your family and I'm really sorry," Knight offered, sounding rather sincere, "I know… I know how hard it is to lose people like that, if you ever want to talk… Hang in there."

"Thanks, Kenelm," Michael nodded in reply and Knight mustered an encouraging smile, clapping on the shoulder before leaving.

"What happen to your family?" Rojer questioned curiously, scowling slightly and folding his arms as Michael approached him.

"They died in a fire a few days ago," Michael lied very convincingly, doing his best to sad.

"No they did not," Rojer stated incredulously and Scorpius was glad he wasn't in Rojer's line of sight because he was sure the alarm showed on his face, Michael managed to look offended.

"How can you even say that?!"

"Because you lie to me just now when you say they died in a fire."

"I did not," Michael insisted determinedly, "The Headmaster told me this morning."

"Maybe he tell you but you know this is not true," Rojer pointed out with a disinterested shrug.

"What makes you so sure he's lying?" Scorpius asked curiously.

"He is not act like someone who just lost all this family, you do not act like your friend just lost all this family and he lies just now," Rojer explained as his gaze shifted to him, "I do well to read people, words are always different but people are the same. You pay good attention to this when you struggle with the words because there is too many language so I pick this up, he is a better liar then you but a liar none of the less."

"You're not going to tell anyone, are you?"

"Scorpius!" Michael protested irritably.

"What? He knows," Scorpius pointed out and Michael put a hand to his head, Rojer just shook his.

"I really do not care, it is not affect me if this family pretend death," Rojer stated with a shrug and started clearing away the things, "Just do not tell lies to me."

"Thank you," Scorpius offered gratefully as he started to help Rojer while Michael tossed his essay onto the pile and stalked out without another word, Scorpius felt the need to elaborate, "I'm sure he's thankful too, he's just… just stressed with NEWTs and the full moon on Monday. Since he's a werewolf he… erm… he transforms and it's hard for him, you know? And then he gets this letter from his mother saying that he'll be told they died in a fire but to not worry because they're alive, they might be in danger or something so staying quiet is… good."

"You and your friends have the strangest of lifes. I will not speak of it."

"This is nothing, you should hear about the other years we've been here," Scorpius pointed out with a shake of his head before feeling an explosion of panic in case Rojer did ask him to elaborate.

"Maybe some other of times," Rojer said disinterestedly as he started filling the sink, much to Scorpius' relief. He finished helping him back things away and bade him a good weekend before heading down, surprisingly Michael was waiting for him at the bottom of the tower.

"What the hell, Scorpius?!" Michael snapped at him angrily.

"What?" Scorpius wondered in confusion.

"Why did you tell him?! Being Ashylos' son does not make him trustworthy, what if he gets my family killed for real?!"

"He already knew!" Scorpius protested defensively and truthfully, "And he won't tell anyone. Rayan said he's not very social and I think this is true, he's not going to say anything and he's not a bad guy."

"Scorpius, you don't know anything about him! He could be a _very_ bad guy."

"He's not, I know he's not," Scorpius said with absolute certainty and Michael looked at him as if he'd gone mad, "Ashylos was a hero, and he didn't raise his son to be a bad person. Despite not liking people, he's here out of loyalty to his friend, he saved my life when he could easily have passed me by. I may not know a lot about him but I know that, your secret's safe with him."

"You better hope so," Michael muttered, his anger fading as they headed off for dinner.

Friday faded into a wet weekend, a sheet of rain pouring down outside while they were mostly indoors working on their mountain of homework. He got to his Fifth Year friends for the first time in what felt like all week due to the schedules, they were complaining about the hefty OWL workload.

"Pfft, that's nothing," Albus insisted, "OWLs are a piece of cake, you want to talk about hard? Try _NEWT_ work, now this stuff is killer. Except Astronomy. Still sleeping through that, Koray just has a melodic, sleep-inducing voice."

"If OWLs were a piece of cake, why did you fail to get any Outstandings?" Vern inquired of his cousin and Albus' face went as red as a Weasley's hair, "Even James got some Outstandings."

"He also got several Trolls," Albus protested defensively, "And I came close. I know I could've nailed Potions if that damn written hadn't been unnecessarily complex and difficult."

"Complex and difficult, well this is going to be a fun year," Orous sighed, scratching away at his parchment, "Maybe I can make up for it by being a good Captain. I book the pitch early for Sunday, when have you booked it for?"

"Booked the pitch?" Scorpius wondered in surprise and his friends – minus Maurice, who knew little about and didn't care for Quidditch – all turned to him.

"Captains are supposed to book the pitch for tryouts, remember?"

"You have done that, right?" Albus prompted worriedly, "I can't make the team if you don't make tryouts."

"It kind of slipped my mind," Scorpius admitted and they looked incredulous, "What?! There's a lot going on and I'm not used to this, it's not the end of the world anyway. There's a whole week, plenty of time. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's been busy with NEWTs."

"Grozda lives for Quidditch. She's booked the pitch first thing Saturday, she's very serious about these tryouts."

"Sequoia's got it for Saturday afternoon," Abby spoke up cautiously, "I'm going to go watch and be supportive of boyfriend."

"Your boyfriend, who was too slow to get the pitch first thing," Albus pointed out with a smirk to which Abby gave a derisive snort.

"Well of course she gets it first thing, her father is the one who controls the pitch booking."

"I'll get it booked, okay?" Scorpius assured them.

In truth, Scorpius really felt like kicking himself and was rather ashamed. Forgetting to book the pitch was not a good start to his Captainship, he needed to do better. He actually left the Library to speak to Krum, not that his speed mattered since he'd already come last and the only timeslot left was the Sunday afternoon. Krum had no issue pointing out the other three had booked their slots by the time classes started, it had been a weekend they'd arrived in Hogwarts after all and he hadn't been bedridden from the poisoning for that long.

Scorpius spent the majority of his weekend practicing his animagi training, hoping in vain he could somehow master it before the full moon but alas, he did not. He did embarrassingly keep sprouting a tail and have to go to Marigold to reverse his hands being turned into hooves again, he couldn't do the reversal spell when he couldn't hold his wand after all. His failure resulted in Michael attacking himself again, a bad start to the week.

It wasn't as if Hogwarts was terrible, as they slid into the second week it came with the nice routine of classes – where Scorpius and Maurice continued to excel at nonverbal magic where others struggled - and – more unfortunately - homework. After a few lessons, Scorpius had decided that the new Transfiguration was definitely an improvement on Midas. She was kind, helpful and knowledgeable and Scorpius could only be disappointed they hadn't had her the previous year because more would probably be taking the class then, more would have passed Transfiguration at least.

Alchemy was the most prominent subject for Scorpius though, they did have it every weekday and it was a lot to learn. He was both fascinated and guilt-ridden whenever he saw Rojer, he continued staying behind after each class to help with the clean up or just to say hello in the case of Thursday. Rojer had them do the same as the previous week and build a miniature tower out of bits of rock while they worked, his assertion in the first class that he liked to keep his hands busy seemed very true.

It was more the things not happening that had Scorpius feeling glum, he wasn't succeeding at his animagi training, Michael had no more news or idea what was going on with his family, his guilt over killing Rojer's father didn't fade nor did his efforts to be kind to the Alchemist improve his general happiness, no one was stopping the Shadows' conquest of Egypt – despite fierce radio debate on the topic – and while he knew Gray were still fighting, he was no longer privy to what was happening. This was made even more frustrating now that Molly and Latimer were amongst them, they were helping and risking their lives while he was not. Their absence was also noticeable, he missed his girlfriend. And Latimer. And Calderon. There were no more lights in the hallways or random music, no more demented, high-pitched laughter echoing the halls. Scorpius missed that, he missed his cousin.

"I am so looking forward to the tryouts tomorrow," Albus said happily as they were getting to bed Saturday night.

"That's because you don't have to Captain them," Scorpius grumbled, anxious at the prospect of having to judge who was best.

"You're overthinking it," Michael insisted, "You just need to have some confidence, you know how to tell who is better at what."

"You looking forward to them tomorrow?" Albus questioned of Michael who shifted uncomfortably as he lay down.

"I don't know, I was thinking about not going."

"What?!" Scorpius and Albus both burst out in unison, Michael was the star Chaser.

"It's a hefty workload and there's a lot going on, I'm not sure I waste time on something fun and relaxing like Quidditch."

"That's all the more reason _to_ do it," Albus protested and Scorpius actually found himself agreeing, "You need something to take your mind off things, something good. The stress will eat you alive if you don't have anything to ease it and we haven't managed to find you a girlfriend yet so you don't even have that, you have nothing. You need Quidditch."

"If I try out for Quidditch will you stop trying to make me get a girlfriend?" Michael sighed.

"No. But you should still do it."

"Please Michael, don't abandon me now," Scorpius pleaded and Michael sighed again, regardless he nodded before rolling over, "Night."

Scorpius did feel as if he'd be quite lost without his friend, it would be weird enough having Quidditch practices without Molly let alone without Michael too. Besides, he was their star Chaser and he'd rather have people he knew in positions then random strangers as much as possible. Plus, he did genuinely think it was good for Michael to have something to look forward to, he didn't want him slipping back into drinking and in general he'd prefer Michael be happy. Apparently Michael wasn't the only one with doubts.

"What do you mean you're not trying out?" Scorpius protested of Abby the next day at lunch, "You were a Reserve last year, this year you can be a full player with Michael and Al."

"Look," Abby began and looked around as if making sure there was someone absent, Albus had gone to warm up but she lowered her voice anyway, "I only became a Reserve last year to spend time with Al because I liked him but now I have Sequoia, I don't need to do that and I don't really want to play. I don't want to be against my boyfriend."

"He's a Seeker like me, I'm the only one he's really against."

"I'm sorry, Scor," Abby insisted with a shake of her head, she looked sympathetic though, "I'll watch the trials and if you're really short on players then I'll try but otherwise I'm not interested, I can take or leave Quidditch."

Scorpius could only sigh heavily, not looking forward to the tryout at all. He trudged on to the pitch with Michael to get the equipment ready for the trials, he supposed he should be grateful for the lack of rain but couldn't manage it. It was so strange walking onto the pitch and not seeing Molly there. He was greeted with a surprise though as a small girl in Hufflepuff robes tugged as his sleeves, he glanced down to see it was Martha from the train and she gave him a nervous smile.

"Hey Martha, what are you doing here?" Scorpius asked of her in surprise, "You know you can only make the same team as your house?"

"I know," Martha admitted as she fidgeted, "My Dad wasn't big on Quidditch but Auriga is really into it so I'm trying to get a better sense of the game by watching the trials, I watched Hufflepuffs already and I just wondered if I could watch Gryffindor's too?"

"Sure, no problem," Scorpius agreed and gave the girl an encouraging smile, gesturing to the stands for her to sit at with the other spectators.

"Thank you. You're a really nice person, you know that?" Martha offered kindly – not that Scorpius agreed - before walking off with an oddly solemn expression, he went to do a double take but she was already moving away with her back to him.

"Who was that?" Michael wondered curiously.

"Some First Year I met on the train, she lost her Dad in Hogsmeade and doesn't really have anyone else," Scorpius explained, feeling a pang of sympathy for her again, "Some kids were being mean to her so she was just standing in corridors crying, I helped her get a compartment."

"How was she?"

"How was she?" Scorpius repeated in confusion.

"Yeah, how was she? Do you think she could've poisoned you?" Michael elaborated to which Scorpius rolled his eyes, "Don't roll your eyes! I'm serious, people you had contact with on the train are suspects and she's a random stranger. Do you think she might've poisoned you?"

"No, I do not. She's a good kid, she made Hufflepuff for crying out loud."

"What? And anyone in Hufflepuff is automatically good?" Michael scoffed before shaking his head, "I don't think so. Besides, she could've been Imperised or Specters could've been involved."

"I don't think so," Scorpius insisted as people started showing up for the tryout, "She seemed fine not murderous or anything. And seriously, would you people forget the poisoning thing? I'm sure the Shadows have bigger things right now, if they wanted me dead then the Shadow Aurors patrolling the ground have had two weeks of nothing."

"That doesn't mean they've given up."

"Are you going to start now or what?" Albus complained as he walked over to them, Scorpius glanced to the crowd of about twenty was still quite small yet somehow more then he'd expected.

"Sure," Scorpius agreed and took a deep breathe, hoping he didn't screw this up as he tried to speak louder, "Okay so welcome to the Gryffindor Quidditch team trials, anyone who's not a Gryffindor cannot make the team so go to the stands or leave. Everyone else, divide yourself into the positions you want. Chasers go over there, Keepers to their left, Beaters to their right and Seekers just stand there. Since my position is Seeker, I will only be taking a Reserve so bear that in mind anyone who wants a full position."

Scorpius waited as they divided themselves up, glad to see some familiar faces as took in his potential teammates. Lily Potter had been the Reserve Seeker the last few years, she and a gangly girl who looked a Seventh Year were the only ones for Seeker. There were five Beaters including Roxy Weasley who had been a Reserve and finally a full player last year, the others he didn't know. There were four Keepers, the smallest of which was the scrawny Third Year Rufus Rhett who had been the Reserve Keeper for a few years and the others were all older people he didn't know. The most was six for Chasers, including Albus and Michael, the only other one he recognized was the young, mousy haired Creevey kid who was a Second Year.

"Alright, let's start with the Seekers since there's not a lot and it's just a Reserve position. I'll release the Snitch, whoever catches it first gets the spot," Scorpius decided since there was the least of them and he didn't think it would take long, this proved to be quite true. Lily caught it first by miles within a few minutes, "Alright, Lily Potter is the Reserve Seeker. Good try though, feel free to try out for something else."

"Okay," the girl nodded and went to go stand with the Chasers, Albus whispered something to Michael as she passed which was likely a comment on her potential for being a girlfriend due to the scowl Michael gave him.

"Next up we'll do some basic flying exercises since all of you will need that then we'll specialize so everyone up in the air," Scorpius commanded them and they actually did it, he didn't know why this surprised him, "Lily, since you're already in can you help me with this equipment stuff?"

"Sure," Lily agreed readily, "What do you need?"

"Just release the Bludgers when I say so."

"Got it, Captain."

"Thank you," Scorpius offered as he took the skies with the assorted students, "Now I want you to just do laps of the pitch, in a minute we'll release the Bludgers and test your dodging ability."

The students obediently started doing laps just like he'd said to do, was it really that easy to get people to do what you say? It was quite strange. And oddly, Scorpius found that he kind of liked being obeyed. He paid attention to the students' flying ability to see how they did normally for a few minutes, having them go faster and slower at random to test their speed before getting Lily to release the Bludgers to see them dodge. The Creevey kid dropped out, Calum or Colin Scorpius thought his first name was due to his poor flying and struggle to dodge. He went to go watch from the stands though, Scorpius spared a glance to the spectators and looked for Martha briefly. She was watching him and quickly averted her eyes, he turned back to the potential fliers. Some were better than others but it would depend on their skills too, he was somewhat open to working on their flying like Albus.

"Alright, that's enough. Land and go back into your groupings," Scorpius decided and the group landed, he gestured for the Beaters to come over and Lily pre-emptively started handing out the bats to them which he muttered a quick thank you for, "Beaters, get back on your brooms because I'm going to conjure some targets and I want you to try hit them. I'll be taking into account accuracy, strength and speed."

The Beaters complied and shot into the air while Scorpius whipped out his wand, feeling quite proud of being able to conjure targets thanks to Wyatt's teaching. He kept them stationary at first, immediately dismissing one of the five due to his struggle to bat and balance on his broom at the same time making each shot weak and clumsy. He then started making the targets move thanks to Varanian's training for them to try hit moving targets, gauging the remaining four contenders. He dismissed another who was faster but for a poorer swing and absurd inaccuracy when trying – and failing - to hit any of the moving targets, that left Roxy and two boys. Roxy's hits weren't as powerful as the other two but it wasn't bad she was fast and with impeccable accuracy from her prior experience, he decided to but her back and counter her with a more forceful hitter which the other two both were quite evenly. It was a close call, one was faster but less accurate and one was slower but more accurate. He ultimately decided on the faster, he thought accuracy was easier to improve on with practice and overall he thought the boy was the better flier of the two.

"Okay that's enough," Scorpius spoke up and had them land, "I've decided to take on Roxy Weasley and erm… you."

"You don't know my name?" the very burly and very tall boy he'd chosen wondered incredulously, "I'm in your year!"

"I'm sorry, I'm bad at names," Scorpius offered lamely and somewhat truthfully, outside of his room in the dormitory and friends he didn't pay much attention, "Who are you?"

"Kemen Arkaitz."

"Well, welcome to the team Kemen Arkaitz," Scorpius congratulated him, forcing a smile and hoping this made up for not knowing it, "Was a close call though so well done to the rest of you and feel free to try out for another position. Next we'll be doing Chasers and Keepers so get back up into the air. Chasers will try to score at the Keepers."

One of the Beaters moved over to the Chasers, making the number seven once again while the other two left in defeat. It was only after that that Scorpius realized he could've and should've picked someone to be a Reserve, he supposed it wasn't the end of the world and he could focus more on just improving those he had, and it was less people to manage as well. He had the Keepers alternate in who was defending the hoops and trying to defend from shots the Chasers took turns in making, it immediately became clear who the new Keeper was. Rufus had always been the small, quiet little boy in the background who helped carry equipment but Molly had mentioned training him up and training him up she had. Rufus blocked aside almost every shot, only really struggling against the notoriously good Michael but even then he managed to save them. The good outweighed it though, he was fast and focused and none of the other Keepers came remotely close to being as good as him.

"Rufus Rhett is our new Keeper," Scorpius announced while still in the ear, earning a somewhat smug grin from Rufus, "The rest of you good try but no, feel free to try Chaser or better luck next year."

Two of the Keepers landed and left, throwing disgusted looks at Rufus as if angered to lose to the younger year. The last failed Keeper joined the opposing side and one Chaser who constantly fumbled the ball to throw at all dropped out, meaning they stayed still with seven Chasers. Scorpius had them try to score against Rufus a bit more, this time having his new Beaters hit Bludgers at them to try see how they'd score under pressure. He then kept grouping them into three, having them work on passing to get up to the goal before scoring and seeing how they did with passing, teamwork and generally testing the dynamics. He then had three more try to stop them and get the Quaffle to the other side instead, testing their ability to tackle as well as still teamwork since what was very important with Chasers especially.

Michael was in hands down, he was still like a shot out of a canon and supreme at scoring. The Seeker original was out, she was a fairly poor flier and bad at all things Chaser. The Beater original was also out, his inaccuracy was just as bad with a Quaffle and one time even managed to hit Albus in the head with it despite the fact Albus was several feet away from who he was supposed to pass to. The only other girl Chaser was also out, she hogged the Quaffle too much – seeming unwilling to pass – and avoided tackling. This just left Albus, the failed Keeper and the Chaser to choose from. Albus was only mediocre at flying, putting the other two ahead but Albus was excellent at passing and decent at getting the Quaffle, he was also good at keeping up with Michael which was something the Keeper especially struggled with.

Latimer had been kind of the strongest, he was good at getting the Quaffle and could also score if need be then Michael had kind of been the fastest, he shot through the field like a ping pong ball and scored like a demon then Albus was in the middle, he was the one who passed between them and could tackle if need be. That dynamic had worked which was why he ultimately decided to go with Michael, Albus and the last Chaser. Scorpius resisted the urge to smile to himself, being the Captain wasn't actually that bad after all and now he had a team.

"Alright, I've made my decision so let's all land," Scorpius announced and everyone came to the ground, "Another close call and good flying out there everyone but ultimately, I've decided to go with Michael Sanford, Albus Potter and err… you."

"Oh thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you Scor!" Albus burst out immediately before he could learn the kid's name, Albus flung his arms around him and hugging him, "You're the greatest friend I ever had, I promise I won't let you down. I'll do everything in my power to be the best Chaser I can be, I swear it."

"I know it," Scorpius offered and patting his friend on the back, thankfully Albus pulled away before crushing all of his ribs. He approached his new Chaser, a short teen who looked like a Fifth Year. He had oak brown hair that flopped to one side which he suspected was at least partially to try hide a scar beside his right eyebrow, "So what's your name?"

"Montague Stanton, I'm in Fifth Year," the boy introduced himself and confirmed Scorpius' suspicions, he looked quite serious

"Well welcome to the team new members and old welcome back, this is my first time as Captains and this is a good team so let's… make this a good year for Gryffindor," Scorpius offered lamely and the group nodded collectively – Rufus gave a delighted whoop - before dispersing minus Michael.

"So Roxy, Lily, do you have any single lady friends who might be interested in Michael by any chance?" Albus asked of his cousin and sister as he walked off with them while Scorpius sighed heavily.

"I thought you did good," Michael assured him.

"I was okay on the Quidditch choosing but I'm not great at the speaking to them," Scorpius pointed out seriously as they started packing up the equipment, the spectators starting to disperse although not Martha that he could see. Had she left early? He supposed it was quite possible or maybe she'd just needed to use the little girl's room or something, "I hope they don't expect pre-game speeches because I have a feeling I will suck at those."

"I guess we'll see."


	15. VI: Temptation

_**Thanks to:** Cool, Cal and Colin Creevey for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_Will Scorpius master his animagi training within this book?_**  
><em>Yes<em>

* * *

><p><em>December 2nd 1980 was the date Xerxes Hektor Panagiotis Seneca was born, barely seven months after the marriage of his parents, Hektor and Hecate. They were both from noble pure-blood families in Greece, it was a respectable match. Hecate was noted to be a beauty with milky white skin, fiery red hair and violently violet eyes which was a rarity in Greece. Hektor was more plain, olive-skinned and stocky yet thin with a square jaw, dark eyes and dusty brown hair. Baby Xerxes was thought to take very strongly after his mother, a square jaw being the most he had in common with his father. <em>

_The family lived in a villa in the Greek countryside, Hektor Flooed daily to Athens where he was an up-and-comer in the Greek Ministry. Hecate stayed at home with their son, leaving his care and housework to servants while she did as she pleased. Xerxes was a happy child of an unhappy union, Hektor often putting silencing charms on his room so he would not hear his parents screaming at each other. The more free spirited Hecate feeling bored, neglected and accusing Hektor of being controlling while the more traditional Hektor felt she was lazy, unappreciative and didn't always behave the way a respectable pure-blooded wife was supposed to. Xerxes loved his mother over his busy father, despite how frequently she would leave him alone with servants to spend time with strange men. It wasn't until a month after he turned five that he saw her packing suitcases like they did for vacation._

_"Are we going on holiday, Mommy?" Xerxes asked of her curiously and she gave him a sickly sweet smile._

_"I'm going on holiday for a while, you have to stay here," Hecate told him gently while one of her male friends started carrying out the suitcases for her, "You know, where there are servants to take care of you."_

_"But I want to come. Don't you want me to come, Mommy? Don't you love me?" Xerxes questioned fearfully, upset at the thought of her leaving without him. Hecate caressed his cheek loving before sighing and putting her hands on his shoulders._

_"Of course I love you, Mommy loves you very much," Hecate assured him seriously, "But… Mommy just loves herself more… And that man's ass. But I'll see you again sometime… You'll understand when you're older."_

_On that note, she kissed him on the forehead and walked out of his life. Xerxes didn't quite understand the permanency of her vacation at first but Hektor did, he was furious that his wife cheated and consumed with rage that she left, the humiliation it brought to the Seneca name. He tried not to be angry at his son but he couldn't help it and resented him as he was tainted by his mother's blood, Xerxes looked so much like her and he couldn't look at him without the sting of betrayal angering him. He threw Xerxes to his tutors and actively avoided spending time with him, focusing on his work at the Ministry and trying to move past it. He got them divorced since she'd left and eventually started courting another, not wanting the adulterer's son to be the sole Seneca heir. Two years after Hecate left, he married again to another pure-blood named Xanthe and had two children with her. His daughter, Nausicca, was born the following year and a son, Panthor, two years after that. _

_Unlike Xerxes, the new children were doted on by both parents. The most time Xerxes spent with his father was meals, where Hektor would sit on the opposite side of the huge eight seated table. Xerxes couldn't even spend time with his half-siblings, the eight and ten year age gap made it hard to be able to connect, play or communicate with them. He desperately craved his father's attention, his mother remained absent – and he came to share his father's anger at being left by her - and Xanthe had no time for her stepson. His extended family was no better, wanting to forget about Hektor's failed first marriage and the result of it and he was often confined to his room during family gatherings. His grandfather alone always made time for him, unfortunately this put him at odds with Hektor so their time together was more infrequent then Xerxes would've liked. He developed an interest in girls quite early and had gone through multiple crushes before even starting school._

* * *

><p>Crystal Sanford was having a rough time of things, although when was that not the case? John had been kind enough to let them stay with him, only making her feel even guiltier for imposing on him after he'd already saved her children's lives and been injured in the process. She was very torn between wanting to just stay home with her poor, traumatized children who she was afraid to let out of her sight or try to get a job because she needed money. She hadn't thought to take any of the bank before pretending to be dead, not that she'd had much to take because money was consistently tight. It was also made difficult by the fact she had no car now and John lived far from places, meaning she needed him to take her anywhere.<p>

She couldn't get a job in the wizarding world in case a Shadow saw her and in the muggle world she couldn't get anything official or it would be known she was still alive. If she couldn't get a job, she couldn't money and unfortunately money was needed for things like rent, a car, the cost of living in general. She didn't know what she was going to do about Michael either. She wasn't doing any better with her children, she had similar problems with enrolling them in a new school so they were just home. Bertie clung to her constantly as if terrified if he left her site then he'd never see her again, he'd clammed right up once more and had started suffering night terrors again. Ivy was worse off, she actually had lost two of her fingers which John had treated but he was incapable of growing them back. She was a clingy too but less so then Bertie, she'd taken a liking to John as well and tended to follow him around as well. Both of them were jumpy, as was Crystal herself.

Crystal lived in perpetual fear of the Shadows returning for her children, she lay awake at night and when if she eventually did slip into sleep then she woke frequently drenched in cold sweat and checked to make sure her children were alright at random. During the day she always kept one eye over her shoulder, every sound sending her mind spiraling into anxiety. She felt safer with John even though his injuries seemed to be taking their toll, he was sluggish and weak, needing to rest quite a bit. As a result, Crystal had offered to help him out as it felt like the least she could and he'd eventually, reluctantly agreed. He'd shown her how to take care of the animals and tend to his garden, he'd set the kids up with chores caring for it as well to help keep them busy or homeschooled them while she was out with the animals since it wasn't as energy consuming as being on his feet.

"You already have a glass of water, Ivy, come on now," John's voice drifted through the silent night while Crystal was trying to sleep or maybe she had been asleep, she wasn't sure these days.

At any rate she rose and pulled herself out of the uncomfortable double bed John had told her she could use, walking by the boy's room and reaching the girl's room where the voices were coming from. She stopped in front of the open door and leaned against the frame, John was tucking Ivy back into bed with his wand lit up on the bedside table.

"Your hand is fine," John was assuring her, sparing a glance for it before finishing with the blankets where Ivy was nestled in nice and cozy but she looked anxious. He sat on the bed beside her and spoke in a gentle tone, "Now come on, what's really bothering you? Why do you keep wandering downstairs in the middle of the night?"

"Because I erm…" Ivy started to answer but halted to bite her lip nervously, "Because there's light down there and I… I like it."

"There's no shame in being afraid of the dark, not after what happened to you."

"Being scared of the dark is for babies."

"Not for wizards," John offered as he retrieved a jar from under the bed, "There's even a special spell for it."

"Really?" Ivy wondered hopefully as John flicked his wand at the jar, some blue flames appeared inside it.

"Really," John confirmed as he screwed the lid back on and put it on the bedside, he gestured to it, "You see, this is magical fire. Specially designed to be blue so it's easier on the eyes to sleep with but still there so you won't be in the dark. Okay?"

Ivy's blue eyes looked only a brighter shade in the light of the flames as they flickered to it and apparently decided it was satisfying, she nodded and gave him a grateful smile in reply. He made to move but was stopped as she threw her arms around him in a hug, John froze in shock before patting her back and tucking her in yet again. He picked up his wand to leave, Ivy's eyes already closed. John's own oddly watery cerulean eyes widened when he saw her but he didn't say anything until he was out, they move unanimously made the decision to move away and head downstairs where they didn't have the risk of waking her.

* * *

><p><em>He was accepted at the Mount Olympos Wizarding School and started aged twelve, which was how it was in Greece. There were eight initial subjects and a language choice of English or Ancient Greek, Xerxes was forced to take the latter as English was something he'd been tutored in at home. Xerxes loved school, he was put in Zeus House – which was naturally the best in Xerxes' opinion – like his father before him and just loved it. He found it great to be learning magic, making friends and away from Hektor, he didn't feel neglected and unwanted there. It all came secondary to girls though, his love life was the important focus of his actual life and he started dating as soon as he could get a pretty girl to say yes. He found it oddly difficult though, dating someone didn't stop him becoming attracted to other girls and he didn't see why you were supposed to be limited to one. This caused him some issues with 'cheating' – which he objected to, it wasn't like they were married then it would be – but he kept at it, after losing his virginity in his Second Year he was only more interested.<em>

_In Third Year, Flying became replaced by your language and you chose two to four optional subjects. Since he already knew English, he chose Latin because he figured it would be easy and Muggle Studies because he didn't care about blood when it came to women and learning about muggles would widen his dating pool. He wanted easy subjects, the less time he had to spend on classes the more time he could spend with girls. He'd already decided on his career anyway, he was going to be an artist, art was something he enjoyed and tutored in and magical was an option for Fifth and Sixth Years so he could learn it. He enjoyed his Third and Fourth Years even more then he had his first two years, wondering how he'd survived without sex. He breezed through his KIU exams and was quite pleased with his results, he'd passed all the subjects he'd wanted to take or needed for the final two years at least. Hektor had other ideas._

_"What the hell is this, Xerxes?!" Hektor yelled at him angrily as he stormed into the room, jabbing at the paper with his exam results and completely disrupting Xerxes' make out session with… Fia? Hektor grabbed her and shoved her out the door much to Xerxes' irritation, "Go back home to your family or I'll drag you home myself, you filthy slut!"_

_"I passed all the subjects I needed or wanted," Xerxes pointed out defensively and somewhat angrily, now his father decided to care? "I even got the highest grade for Muggle Studies."_

_"I don't care what you got for Muggle Studies! This is not good enough, you failed three subjects and three you passed aren't high enough grades to continue them anyway!"_

_"I don't want to take those wants though so it doesn't matter. I'm taking Muggle Studies, Charms, Magical Arts and Latin."_

_"No!" Hektor barked angrily._

_"What do you mean 'no'?!" Xerxes demanded irritably, "It's what I want."_

_"You're a child, it doesn't matter what you want! You're my son and you're going to go back to repeat the year, take the exams again and get good enough results for a full roster for a complete magical education for a good job in the Ministry!"_

_"Dad, no! I don't want to do the year again!" Xerxes protested furiously, scrambling up, "It's my exams, my life and my choice! I'm fine with my results, I'm not going to go back and do the year again like a moron while all my friends move on! I can do what I want!"_

_"It doesn't matter what you want, only what I want!" Hektor screamed as he slapped him across the face, Xerxes was so stunned that he could only gape, "I'm your Father and you'll do as what I say. You're repeating the year and if you don't get better grades then you can do it again, try using your brain not your dick this time!"_

_The rest of the summer, Hektor hired a tutor to reach him Legilimency and Occlumency so he'd have a special skill to help make up for the fact he'd had an extra year in school. He hated it, it was the most uncomfortable process for the stupidest skill. Xerxes had to repeat his Fourth Year. He'd never felt more humiliated in his whole life, some of his friends had even done worse than him but they still moved on to the next year. He had to endure sitting in the classes with the younger year, listening to them snickering and mocking his intelligence. He felt like everyone was mocking him, he couldn't believe his father had done this to him. It was the most miserable year of his life, he had to focus on his studies – much of which he'd already done – for fear of repeating the year again. This time, he passed every subject and his father 'helped' him pick his subjects for the final years. _

_He was forced to not take Magical Arts and the languages like he'd wanted, he managed to convince his father Muggle Studies was more useful then Astronomy but that was all and he still hadn't wanted the maximum amount of subjects because it was a hefty workload. He also still was forced to keep up his Legilimency and Occlumency training over the summer, it was of little consolation that he was apparently good at it. Fifth Year was exhausting with so many subjects but his father only gave him 'permission' to drop the two subjects he most wanted to learn so he didn't, he was looking forward to the summer break more than anything. Apart from still learning Legilimency and Occlumency, however he finally started to see the value in it. He wasn't just good, he was great and came to realize he'd actually surpassed his teacher in terms of skill. He was so good he could actually read minds – if they didn't know the skills – without the other person noticing, you just needed to be delicate and gentle. _

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry if that was out of line, she kept wandering downstairs," John offered immediately when they were back in the front room, he waved his wand and they were left with just the crackling flames in the fireplace, "Considering when I found her she was being kept in a windowless room with no light, it seemed like the right thing to do."<p>

"No, I… I approve," Crystal assured him and he relaxed only slightly, his nervousness returning to his usual stoic expression and she wrapped her arms around herself as she became embarrassingly and shamefully aware she was only in her nightgown while he was still dressed. She hoped she didn't blush, "You were good with her. Thank you."

"Glad you approve," John nodded and she jumped nervously and stupidly at the sound of an owl hooting outside, she looked back to him where he was still watching her with his jagged wound-scar still livid and fresh on sickly, waxy flesh which made her feel a pang of guilt.

"I'm really sorry about that, you know?"

"I know and it's fine, I have come to accept my beauty pageant days are over," John pointed out jokingly and she smiled as he started walking over to the chair to sit.

"I'm sure your parents were proud."

"They would've been," John scoffed, sounding serious again, "I was supposed to be a girl."

"You were?" Crystal wondered in surprise and he nodded.

"They already had two sons, they wanted a girl and expected a girl. They already had a name picked out - Christabelle I was supposed to be called – and the nursery had all been done up in pink frills, dolls and little dresses had been bought. But no, I had to go and have a penis," John recounted and Crystal couldn't help but laugh, it felt like a long time since she'd laughed and even John had the corners of his mouth curl upwards in the weakest of smiles. It was the closest she'd seen him get to a smile, it quickly faded as he added almost to himself, "And my Mother never forgave me for it, Father refused to have more children lest we become like the Weasleys. She acted like we'd conspired to rob her of a daughter."

"I'm sorry," Crystal offered sympathetically as John rubbed his wounded side, "My Dad died when my Mum was pregnant with me and my Mum died giving birth to me, neither of them even got to see me before they died and I had a defective heart, I could've died too. I was never really bothered by gender, long as they're okay."

"I'm sorry," John told her softly and she nodded in understanding as they drifted into quiet, "We should get some rest. Goodnight, Bambi."

"Goodnight, Christabelle," Crystal stated as she turned on her heel to leave, she disliked being called that. She got halfway up the stairs before working up the courage to ask him about it, "Why do you always call me Bambi?"

"Because you're so skittish, you know like a deer," John answered as she returned, he'd started unbuttoning his shirt and didn't notice her return, "You need to have more confidence in yourself."

She was torn between coughing to loudly announce her presence or simply moving back upstairs to give him some privacy, she froze though as she caught a glimpse of his chest. He wasn't fat like Bob or thin like Robin, he wasn't as muscular as Jack either but just nicely toned which was almost very attractive but he had an assortment of scars marring his body along with his fresh wounds he'd gotten saving her kids. Most noticeably and deeply disturbing was the wound he'd got on his side, it looked raw and black, blotchy almost like a river of mold and oozing dark… blood? John looked in pain, his eyes closed and his head lolled as if he was about to collapse. She rushed over to help him and steadied him, his eyes shot back open and he gripped the table for support.

"The… The wound looks bad," Crystal pointed out stupidly, unsure of what to say.

_That's useful, you dumb whore!_ Bob's voice barked at her inside her mind, _He has eyes. And it's his body, of course he knows its bad you stupid bitch_

"I know. It's a curse wound, a nasty curse. It keeps getting worse, festering. Dark Magic," John told her as he stood, she hovered by him, "I need to lie down."

"Should… Should you go to St Mungo's?" Crystal asked less stupidly as John lay back on the couch but he shook his head.

_Why didn't you say that in the first place?! You're so god dammed stupid!_

"They won't see me. They don't treat people with the Dark Mark."

"Is it… I mean, it's not fatal… right?"

"Without treatment, it is. It's not just the wound that festers you see, it spreads and eats you alive inside," John explained, letting his eyes close while Crystal felt panic shoot through her, "It's a slow and painful way to die, even slower since I killed whichever one of the Shadows was the caster. Weeks at least, months at most."

"Do you know how to treat it?" Crystal questioned worriedly and John stared into her eyes for the longest moment as if debating the answer, "John?"

"No. No idea."

* * *

><p><em>Xerxes quickly realized how fantastic a tool this was, if you knew what people were thinking or liked or disliked then it was easy to manipulating them. It was also perfect for seducing women. Partly out of morbid curiosity to see if he could and a desire to get back at his father, he tried using it seducing Xanthe his stepmother. He shocked and pleased to succeed, she felt ignored by his father and surprisingly lonely. Unfortunately, his father knew the skills so Xerxes couldn't be able to get inside his head to see what he really thought. He kept it from Hektor despite initially planning on revealing it, Xanthe's fear of his reaction making him think of his younger siblings. He may not be close to them but they were still his family, he didn't really want to screw up their relationship with their parents the way Xerxes' had been ruined by Hecate. He started his sixth and final year, his newfound skills really helped him speed up the dating process despite the still heavy workload and he could cheat answers off others. <em>

_He graduated with the top grades in his year because of this, they did nothing to stop Legilimency being used on other students. He didn't think they thought a student were capable of doing it, let alone without a wand or incantation. Xerxes was just that good. Forget good, he was great, he was downright brilliant and awesome. Hektor gave nothing beyond a grunt of approval at his results and Xerxes decided just screw his parents, his so-called mother had left and his father too bitter to recognize how fantastic a son he had. His father did take more interest in them, trying to get him a job in the Ministry by throwing parties and introducing him to these high-ranking officials while pointing out his high grades. Xerxes even met the Minister, however he was more interested in the man's wife. His poor lonely wife, starved of affection and attention. Forget art, seduction was the only art he cared about. She wasn't especially attractive and was pushing sixty but nonetheless, she was probably the most powerful woman in Greece and power was sexy. He began an affair with her._

_This would prove to be a mistake for Xerxes though, for a few months he did enjoy her company until her husband came home early from a function and caught them. Xerxes tried to stay hidden under the covers and fled while he was busy yelling at his wife, he thought he'd gotten away with it too as nothing eventful happened the rest of the night. The next day he carried on as usual, relaxing and his good spirits returning as a maid he was also sleeping with was working that day. He'd just started snogging out her when she was yanked off him, Xerxes blinked in surprise to see Hektor pushing her towards the door._

_"Get to work or you're fired! I'm paying you to clean not screw my son!" Hektor yelled at her and she scuttled away, Xerxes resisted the urge to roll his eyes as his father's incredibly poor timing but the older man was already rounding on him, "And you! The Minister's wife, Xerxes?! Really?!"_

_"How… How do you know about that?" Xerxes questioned nervously as his father stared him down stoically, shaking with pent up rage._

_"How do you think I know?! The Minister told me this morning! It's a scandal, an outrage, do you have any idea how badly this reflects on me?! How badly this reflects on our family?! My job is in jeopardy and forget about a good job for you now, the Snitch is lost! You're just like your Mother! A selfish slut who can't keep his pants on, how hard is that?! What is wrong with you?! You're a disgrace to the Seneca name, a disgrace to pure-bloods, a disgrace to wizards in general! You disgust me!"_

_"I disgust you?! You disgust me!" Xerxes spat back angrily at the outburst, "How can you accuse me of being selfish when you never think of anyone but yourself?! You never take into account how anyone aside from you feels because you don't care! You don't care about anyone but yourself! You don't care about me and you never have!"_

_"Don't try to turn this on me, you're the one who did something wrong! Have some shame, have some dignity!"_

_"I'm not the one married," Xerxes scoffed defensively and truthfully, finding himself stunned when his father slapped him across the face for the second time in his life._

_"Get out, Xerxes, I'm done with you," Hektor said quietly._

_"What do you mean, you're done with me?"_

_"I'm done with you. I'm done trying to help you, I'm done trying to protect you, I'm done trying to raise you. Just get out. Get out of this house and get out of our lives, I'm just done with you."_

_"You can't be serious," Xerxes protested despite the fact Hektor looked very serious, then again he always did._

_"Walk out right now or I'll make you walk out!" Hektor yelled, jabbing a finger angrily at the door while Xerxes continued trying to process what was happening._

_"C-Can't I pack first?"_

_"NO!" Hektor barked and went to draw his wand, Xerxes fled and his father slammed the front door on his heels._

_Xerxes stood there in shock. It was raining too, the skies pouring down on him as he just stood there. He stared at the door, waiting for it to open and his father to let him back in because surely he couldn't be serious. His father wouldn't go this far, surely. But it continued to rain and he continued to stand there like an idiot, he used a charm to keep the rain off him but the door didn't open. Was Hektor waiting for an apology? Was that it? He heaved a heavy sigh and went back over to the door, he knocked. And knocked. And knocked but still got no answer, was he just supposed to apologize though the door?_

_"I'm sorry!" Xerxes yelled at the wood, feeling rather foolish, "I'm sorry, okay!? Would you just let me back inside now?! I'm sorry!"_

_He was about to yell again when the door opened, it wasn't his father though but Xanthe. She had some travel bags with her, for a stupid second he wondered if she was leaving Hektor like Hecate had but instead she started handing the bags to him._

_"Hektor is serious about kicking you out, he's just gone to work right now so I've packed your things and given you as much gold we have to hand," Xanthe told him and he could only gape, still trying to believe this, "Don't stay in Greece, the Minister is a powerful and angry man. You can't stay here and you can't come back here."_

_"What… What am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go?" Xerxes wondered of her fearfully and desperately, "This is my home."_

_"Go to England," Xanthe offered after a moment of thought as she caressed his cheek tenderly and pressed a last kiss to his lips, "That's where your Mother went, she might be able to help you. If not then I don't know but you're smart, I'm sure you'll think of something. Be careful."_


	16. VI: Without Wings

_**Thanks to:** RandomGerman, Guest and Colin Creevey for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_Whos Xerus? _**  
><em>He's Carver's father and Florian's half-brother, he was a Shadow who was killed the end of the last book<em>

**_Will John n Crystal be gettin 2gether?_**  
><em>Too spoilery to say<em>

**_What did the Shadows do to her (Ivy)?_**  
><em>Selwyn used the Cruciatus Curse on her as a warning then she was locked her in a small windowless room, then the guy Crystal killed cut off two of her fingers, hit her a few times because she struggled and used the Cruciatus Curse on her to punish her for resisting and then someone else cauterized the wounds, healed her and gave her water. Then she was left in the dark again until John saved her<em>

**_ Is this just a kid who wants a night light or is she becoming like a moth (Florian) who also likes the light?_**  
><em>Just a kid who wants a night light<em>

**_Does John help her as a way of redeeming herself?_**  
><em>Basically yes, although he's given up hope and doesn't believe he can ever be redeemed. He still wanted to do the right thing to try be a good person, try to make up for his crimes and Lenore's death (he feels he failed to protect her like he promised his brother he would) in some small way<em>

* * *

><p><em>Xerxes felt utterly and hopelessly lost, he didn't want to go to a far off country he'd never been to before where they spoke a language he hadn't used since he was twelve. England was cold and wet, he didn't even have that much money with him and he didn't have any servants. How did people do things without servants? He didn't know how to cook or clean, he was a pure-blood for crying out loud. He didn't even want to find his mother, Hecate had made it perfectly clear where her priorities were. How did you even go about finding people? Why was this even happening to him? He hadn't done anything wrong. How could his father do this to him? It was worse than forcing him to repeat a year, Hektor had actually managed to top it. He hadn't even gotten to say goodbye to his half-siblings or his grandfather or friends.<em>

_He took an immediate dislike to England, it was dreary and dull and the language sounded stupid. He missed his own country, Greece was such a beautiful place. He rented a room in the Leaky Cauldron for the time being while he got his bearings, it also meant food was easy to come by since he could get it there and the cleaning service took care of that. He spent a good deal of time in the pub, brushing up on his rusty English and trying to learn as much as possible. Legilimency came in handy, he frequently used it to win at card games and for seducing women, at least England did have women because he didn't think he'd survive without them. He had no luck finding his mother, no one seemed to have heard of her although it was suggested she may simply be in hiding after some wizarding war he'd heard of vaguely that had ended a few years ago. _

_For a few months things were going okay, he didn't intend to live in the Leaky Cauldron forever but he was feeling a bit more secure in the country finally and more confident. But also saddened as he reached his twentieth birthday, he got nothing. No gifts, no cards, not even a note. Had his family just forgotten he existed completely? Did they really not care at all? Was there really no one who cared about him? It wasn't like he was a bad person, he'd never been violent or cruel. He was a good person. His parents were the bad ones, they'd turned their backs on him for their own selfish reasons. They were terrible parents, they were the worst. If he ever had kids then he'd never turn his back on them, no matter what he would help them because that was what parents were supposed to do._

_He didn't realize he'd become a father that night, he just poured alcohol into the vacant hole his parents had left and talked about his sorrows to some woman. Senna or Sienna or Sierra or Charlotte… He didn't care what her name was, she was tall and beautiful though with dark hair and coal colored eyes. He was so drunk he didn't remember much of the – for once, not Legilimency influenced - conversation, he didn't even remember the words of the Contraceptive Spell he'd been supposed to cast. He didn't give her anymore thought then he had to any other of his women, not until she showed up in his room after the New Year had started. An unhappy new year as he was sent word of his grandfather's death, he was also told the funeral was over so he shouldn't worry about attending. He was feeling pretty down until he returned to his room after supper, the woman was sitting right there._

_"Do you know who I am?" the woman questioned of him, looking rather unimpressed. _

_"I think we had sex once," Xerxes half-guessed and tried to pry into her mind, only to find himself locked out. He felt his heartbeat start to quicken in panic, she was an Occlumens._

_"We did and now I'm pregnant with your child," the woman nodded vaguely, looking more interested now while Xerxes jumped so high in shock his head hit the ceiling, "That was an impressive attempt at Legilimency, you didn't use a wand or verbal spell, your eye contact wasn't even obvious."_

_"I'm good at Legilimency," Xerxes brushed it off, wondering how in the world she could give a damn about that at a time like this, "Did you say that you're-"_

_"You're going to be a Father, congratulations. It's not really important though, I was only really telling you as a curtesy. Do you know Occlumency too?"_

_"Of course I know Occlumency!" Xerxes snapped irritably, thinking it was hardly relevant, "I'm going to be a Father, who cares about Occlumency or Legilimency?!"_

_"You don't have to do anything about the child," the woman waved it off dismissively while Xerxes felt a bubble of excitement brewing after he said the words from his own lips, he was going to be a Dad, he was going to have a child. He was so proud and ecstatic, "Have you ever considered teaching Legilimency and Occlumency? My employer has plans to-"_

_"I don't care about that, I care about my child," Xerxes blurted out and sat with her, she looked quite taken surprised by his enthusiasm, "Is it a girl or a boy? Or twins? Or more? Have you thought of names? How long do I have to wait until it's born? And if you haven't thought of names can I suggest Viola for a girl, it is my absolute favorite girl's name and Stefanos for a boy, after a grandfather I'm particularly fond of who just died. I don't remember your name but whatever it is, I'd like to suggest Seneca is a better last name choice because it sounds way better than anything English I've heard and I am a pureblood, Seneca is a well-respected pureblood back in Greece. I-"_

_"Xerxes, shut up," the woman interrupted calmly, looking bored again as she stood, "My name is Asenneth Hunter, I usually go by Senna. My child will be a Hunter but I'll take your first name suggestions under advisement, if you want to be involved then fine. Think about what I said about teaching, I'll be in touch."_

* * *

><p>Now that Scorpius had a team, he also had to go through the process of training them. He'd always taken for granted just how easy it was to turn up to practices and do what Molly said, now he was the one doing it. <em>He<em> had to arrange the practices, he had to make sure the times he picked fit in with everyone on the team's schedules and then he had to make sure the pitch had not already been booked on those times. It was really quite tedious and then there were the practices themselves, instead of his own training he had to instead direct everyone else and work on their skills. He wasn't as in depth as Molly but he did take to keeping notes, he didn't have an infinite amount of space in his mind to dedicate to Quidditch.

He wrote to Molly, finding it quite strange to do so when he was so used to her being at Quidditch practices without her made him miss her even more. He felt more like a Captain though and tried out the Prefect's bathroom he was now entitled to use, it was nice there he would admit. He also hadn't paid much attention before to the spectators for practices, if there was any then it wasn't a lot of people but this time he noticed because Martha would always come down afterwards to help him pack the equipment away along with Michael. She didn't come to every practice but she came to a lot, she was a good kid, somewhat shy but curious about Quidditch and what it was like in NEWT classes.

"You don't think it's a little suspicious?" Michael complained after they split up from Martha to head to Gryffindor Tower to change before dinner, "She just _happens_ to meet you on the train where you were poisoned then she just _happens _to take an interest in watching the Quidditch practices?"

"_Everyone_ was on the train and so what if she likes watching?" Scorpius countered, fed up of his friends bringing the poisoning up, "It's not strange for a magical child to like Quidditch."

"Why not watch her _own_ house practices then?"

"Probably because she knows me," Scorpius insisted and Michael rolled his eyes in exasperation, "Besides, if she was the poisoner and is going to poison me then what is taking her so long? We've had two full weeks of Quidditch practices, I've seen a lot of her and I'm perfectly fine. If you're right then she didn't wait on the train, what's stopping her now?"

"I don't know, maybe she needs more potion?"

"Or maybe she's just innocent and you're just paranoid. "

"Have you asked Varanian what he thinks of the attempt on your life?" Michael questioned desperately.

"Yes and he hasn't replied yet," Scorpius lied, he didn't think it was worth bothering Varanian about and if he agreed with his friends then he'd never hear the end of it so he hadn't. It could wait until the Christmas break, "So could you just drop it?"

Michael did so but Scorpius wasn't sure he was convinced, despite how he continued to not die even after being around her. September settled into being a pretty uneventful month and drifted into a drizzly October, classwork – and homework - continued and other people were improving with nonverbal. Not all though, Albus seemed to really struggle with it. Scorpius didn't mind, he liked to keep busy because when he wasn't his mind was consumed by guilt about Ashylos' death and frustrated at his inability to do anything of use in the war still raging now in the sands of Egypt, he wanted to do more. Rojer continued to teach Alchemy, Rayan still unwell as far as Scorpius knew and Scorpius would still always stay behind to speak to him as he packed up. No major developments on soul but Rojer had reiterated some things he already knew.

The second week of October was the next full moon and with it increased Scorpius' frequency of practicing his animagi training, desperate to get it so he could stay with Michael. He swore he was getting closer, he could feel it, he could feel his body trying to compress itself into the new creature. It didn't look like he was going to make it though, the night of the full moon Michael was already in the Hospital Wing – probably already transformed – while Scorpius was in his dormitory practicing. He sat cross-legged on his bed with his eyes closed and the drapes pulled closed, Albus was the only one still awake though.

"So where do you think I should Grozda for our date in Hogsmeade?" Albus was questioning while scarfing down fudge, frustratingly distracting him from his training although Scorpius felt his teeth turning to his fangs. He could do more when he was more focused, teeth were nothing.

"I don't know," Scorpius insisted and continued willing his body to change, feeling the flesh on his face and chest hardening on what he'd learned to recognize as scales.

"I was thinking of taking her to the place I first took her too, it is like our anniversary practically so I thought it might be romantic to take her back there," Albus continued annoyingly while Scorpius continued his practice, he wasn't sure what he did but he felt… strange.

"Yeah, do that," Scorpius stated dismissively, focusing harder and felt an uncomfortable ache that he had to grit his teeth against as his flesh compressed itself to cling to his bones.

"But then I worry that she'll think I'm being boring, repetitive and running out of ideas, you know? Maybe she doesn't even remember that place," Albus prattled on, still frustratingly while Scorpius felt more of his body erupting into scales, he kept focusing and willing.

"Sounds good," Scorpius muttered and suppressed a gasp as a sharp pain shot through his back. _Come on, come on, come_, his mind pleaded, he was going to transform whether his body wanted to or not.

"Are you even listening to me?" Albus demanded and Scorpius did cry out then as the pain intensified, "Scorpius?"

Scorpius' body lurched forward to be on his knees and he bit his tongue to stop himself screaming, he felt as if the skin on his back was being ripped off. He heard the swoosh of the drapes being opened and fabric ripping but barely noticed it at the pain, he cried out as he felt as if his back erupted and heard Albus yelp in surprise, a flapping followed by the sound of things being knocked over. The pain stopped immediately but it was replaced by a strange feeling, it was as if he now had a part of himself on his back like his arms had been moved there or… or he'd grown an extra limb.

"Keep it down," Reuben Tear grumbled sleepily and Scorpius tensed, feeling an alien part of himself tense as well.

Albus grabbed his arm roughly and Scorpius was hauled downstairs without another word, he noticed something bizarre about Albus though. For some reason, he now had some kind of glowing white aura around himself. The Common Room was empty and only once there did Albus turn to face him, he noticed Albus had a bright orb coming out of his chest where his heart should be, it had a tint of green.

"What happened to you?" Scorpius wondered in shock, momentarily forgetting his own situation.

"What happened to me?! What happened to you!" Albus burst out incredulously, "Were you trying to turn yourself into some kind of demonic vampire?!"

Scorpius opened his mouth to reply but froze when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, his eyes were not glittery and devoid of pupil, the sharp fangs, his flesh was mostly scaled but most of all it was the wings. He'd sprouted wings, a huge pair of black, leathery wings like a bat. He too also had a weird aura, except his was gray as was the glowing orb coming from his chest. He tried to stretch his wings and was surprise as they opened, he willed them to close and they did. Open and closed. Open and closed. Open and then closed. He had wings. He actually had wings. They were his wings. It was… unbelievable. He wondered if he could fly.

"Scor!" Albus snapped at him, still looked stunned and had fudge on his face.

"It's just my animagi training, it's no big deal," Scorpius tried to brush it off and looked away, his surprise turning to excitement at the thought of being something capable of flight, "First time growing wings. Do you think it'd be fun to be a bat?"

"Maybe or a demonic vampire. You can reverse it right?"

"Of course," Scorpius brushed it off, taking in Albus' strange aura again, "I'm more curious why we suddenly have auras and glowing balls in our chests."

"Err… We don't," Albus pointed out with a scowl, "Are you sure you're not just going to be a mental patient?"

"I'm sure," Scorpius complained and flicked his wand, using a nonverbal reversal spell to untransfigure himself. He felt his fangs recede to normal teeth, his body fleshed out again and his scales reverted. But not the wings.

"Why do you still have wings?! And weird eyes?!" Albus hissed at him in panic while Scorpius tried a different, a more powerful spell and the auras vanished. But not the wings, "They're still there."

"I know they're still there, I can feel them!" Scorpius complained, gesturing wildly with his arms and accidently his wings which knocked a portrait down, he cringed apologetically, "Sorry."

"We should get a teacher."

"No, I'm not _supposed_ to be trying to become an animagus. Get… Get Maurice, he's good at stuff. I'll put this picture back up."

"Fine," Albus grumbled and headed back towards the steps while Scorpius put the portrait back up, apologizing profusely, "Got him."

"Huh, for some reason I thought they'd be more like a butterfly," Maurice commented, causing Albus to double take before the deaf boy continued on to Scorpius, "Anyway, the reason the your spells won't be working is the wings are too far from your body so it can't transfigure back. The ones you know won't be strong enough."

"Can you fix-"

Albus never got to finish his question, Maurice had flicked his own wand and Scorpius felt his wings snap to his back. Maurice waved his wand again and the wings seemed to meld back into his flesh, as if they were being melted down into his skin.

"You're welcome," Maurice offered as he put a hand to his necklace to translate, Scorpius didn't often see him in pajamas with his hair in utter disarray, "Is that all or can I get back to sleep?"

"I erm… I saw these weird auras before my eyes turned back to normal?" Scorpius asked cautiously.

"Isn't it obvious? Whatever animal's eyes you shifted to, you were seeing through their eyes. Whatever animal sees auras," Maurice answered with a dismissive shrug before turning on his heel and heading back up the stairs, he waved his hand behind them as he did so, "Night!"

* * *

><p><em>Senna left without another word but Xerxes nonetheless, impeding fatherhood did inspire to aspire for more than his current situation. He was going to be the father now, he couldn't rely on his own worthless, deadbeat father. He decided to become a tutor, teaching Legilimency and Occlumency, sometimes Ancient Greek which was sometimes relevant with Ancient Magic or history related artifact things… It was his job to teach the language not to know what it was used for. He saved up his money to buy an apartment, it was a magical floor of a muggle block. Two bedrooms, he made one pre-emptively into a nursery for his future child. He researched baby and childcare, he thought caring for the baby himself was a good step to being a better father then his parents. Servants were expensive anyway, he had to learn a few cleaning spells himself since he couldn't afford a maid. Cooking… Cooking was just impossible, he had to eat out all the time and so would his kid. <em>

_It wasn't too much but it was a start, Xerxes was quite proud of himself. He didn't other people would do as well as he had when his family threw him out with nothing, he was uncommonly gifted. He knew it, his parents had turned their back on an uncommonly gifted child because they were fools. Look what he'd accomplished without them, he was everything and they were nothing. Screw them. He stopped searching for his mother at this point, he cared more for his unborn child then the mother who'd abandoned him._

_Senna finally returned in August, a few days after their son, Stephan Drogo Hunter, had been born. Xerxes loved him the moment he laid eyes on him, delighted to have a son. She allowed them to share custody of him, apparently she travelled a lot so she would leave him with Xerxes for weeks at a time then take him back when she was in the country again. He had mixed reactions to parenting, sometimes it was incredibly exhausting and sometimes it was incredibly rewarding. Stephan actually helped him with women too, random people would fawn over the baby or simply view good fatherhood as an attractive quality. Xerxes doted on his son, he was a better parent then his combined. He was pretty sure he was a good father, a great father, the best father in fact. It made him want to shove it in his parents' faces, it was just another way that he was better than them. _

_And Stephan was better than them too, it was his parents' loss to miss out on their grandchild's life. He had a nasty temper but otherwise he was good, he was a very smart kid, he was bright for his age. And cunning, good at lying from an early age as well. He blamed Senna, she always encouraged it. He thought Senna was a strange woman, she was very secretive and not very empathetic. One time Stephan threw a rock at a very elderly muggle with a walking stick but it missed and instead of telling him off, she handed him another and advised he aim for the stick so they'd fall without its support. She high-fived him when the man fell and went to buy him ice-cream as a reward, it was really rather odd. Senna was very curious about him though, especially about his beliefs and views. _

_When Stephan turned too, Senna announced she was sending him to a special magic school for a head start. She was very proud, claiming he was one of the very first in this new regime for this new school her mysterious employer – Senna frequently refused to comment on who this person was or what Senna even did for a living - had created. He was only allowed to see his son once a month, apparently it was far away with an intense regime and was on an island so it wasn't like he could move closer. Stephan started to seem different after that, he was literate before he was three but he had an obsessive fascination with war. Xerxes had no say in the matter though, with his next child he wanted more control over their lives. He missed the time with his son, it wasn't the same. It give him more time to dedicate to women again though, he tried to pay more attention to them though and make sure they were aware of his name and how to contact him just in case something went wrong and he had another child. Unlike his parents, he would love any and all future children he had. _

_He tried staying in longer term relationships, he could never stay faithful for very long but that was their problem because he was young, handsome and a skilled Legilimens, he could easily find someone else. If teaching it had taught him anything, then it was that he was more talented at it then most. He spent New Year's night at a lady friend's house but when returning home the next morning, he noticed a girl was standing on the roof of his building about to jump. Xerxes apparated to the roof immediately, the girl jumped as he arrived. His wand was in his hand faster then he'd thought possible to levitate her back onto the roof, she scampered up in shock and spun to face him. She was a very dainty thing and pale, undoubtedly a teen too. Her short, mousy hair hung messily around her head, her face might've been beautiful if not coated by tears and her eyes were a lovely shade of sage but so sad._

_"H-How did you do that?" the girl stammered out fearfully and he delved into her mind, she was a muggle teenager but had passed the age of consent nonetheless._

_"I'm a wizard," Xerxes told her truthfully, deciding the cat was out of the bag, "I used magic to save you."_

_"M-Magic?"_

_"It's real, there's this whole magical world you don't know about. Come down with me and I'll tell you about, I know you're curious," Xerxes continued and noticed her eyes drift to the edge, "I also know why you're doing this. You're an only child and your parents died in a car crash two years ago, on their way home after dropping you off at a friend's house for a sleepover. The guilt and grief tear you up inside, you had to move here from your lovely home in the country to stay with your only living relative. A great grandmother but you have to take care of her, of you both, not the other way around. She doesn't even know who are and it kills you to see her like this, you can't focus in school, you can't even focus on making new friends or dating. I know your name is Edythe Blake and you're in your last year of high school, you're so alone and so stressed."_

_"How-How do y-you know all that?" Edythe wondered shakily._

_"I'm a Legilimens. That means I can read minds," Xerxes added, realizing she wouldn't know the word. She also wouldn't know if he lied, "And I can also see hear spirits and right now I hear your parents, they're crying and begging you not to jump. They don't want you to die."_

_"R-Really?" Edythe asked tearfully as more dribbled down her face, he nodded, "I-It's just s-so hard, you know? It's j-just so h-hard."_

_"I know it's hard," Xerxes offered gently and held out his hand to her, "Come on. Let's go inside and talk about this, please."_

_"O-Okay," Edythe agreed hesitantly and took his hand._

* * *

><p>Scorpius felt slightly better about failing to become an animagus yet after the wings, surely growing such a huge and complex limb was a sign he was getting closer. He may not be able to do anything about the Shadow War but he could and he would help his friend, he thought Michael needed it especially since he was worried about his family. The auras also raised questioned, what animal saw auras like that? Albus had also had a point about Hogsmeade, not the restaurant with his girlfriend but the trip was a chance for him to see Molly. She still hadn't replied to his initial letter but he sent her another one anyway, asking her if she'd like to meet him then they could still have a date.<p>

"Professor," Scorpius said as he walked to Professor Hagrid the next Monday after a class where they'd been learning about Griffins.

"What can I do fer yeh?" Professor Hagrid wondered pleasantly as he tossed the last scraps of raw meat to the herd.

"I was just wondering, is there any creature that sees auras?" Scorpius asked and the half-giant looked slightly surprised.

"Auras?" the professor repeated and Scorpius nodded, he scratched at his massive beard, "No, can't say tha' anything comes to mind. To be honest with yeh, I'm not even sure they're real."

"Okay, thanks Professor Hagrid," Scorpius offered politely and gave him a smile of gratitude before leaving.

He headed back inside the castle where everyone was going to lunch, wondering who else he could ask. Was aura something spell related? Runes? Divination? And how did it link to creatures? Would Professor Vipera know? Some ingredients came from creatures. The same could be said for Alchemy, Rojer might know. He could ask Rojer when he stayed behind to talk to him after class.

Scorpius' thoughts were interrupted by a scream, an ear-splitting screech that was getting closer. He glanced up, seeing a body plunging down. He withdrew his wand with a speed Varanian had taught him and cast a perfect nonverbal spell to slow moment, the boy came to a halt before hitting the ground then Scorpius let him down gently. They were wearing Gryffindor robes and when he went to give a hand up, he was shocked to see it was someone he knew: Lysander Scamander. The kid was trembling.

"Are you okay?" Scorpius asked fearfully, his heart still pounding and Lysander nodded mutely, his eyes completely wide, "D-"

"Thank you," Lysander gasped and abruptly threw his arms around him, "I prayed to my fairy guardians to save me, I'm glad they passed the word along to you. Thank you, thank all of you."

"No problem. How high did you fall from?" Scorpius wondered as Lysander pulled away, wiping his eyes quickly. He was still shaking.

"The top floor, I was putting away my things before lunch," Lysander told him, looking anxious, "I was just about to walk down when I felt like I was hit in the back then I was knocked over the side and I was just falling and falling and falling and falling and falling and falling and falling and falling and falling and falling and falling and fall-"

"I get it, Lysander," Scorpius interrupted the loop Lysander had seemed stuck in, his eyes filled with tears and he threw his still shaking arms around him again, "It's okay."

"Thank you! I thought I was going to die," Lysander wailed and Scorpius felt him sobbing onto his shoulder, "I don't want to die. Someone tried to kill me, they tried to kill me dead and my fairy guardians were helpless but you saved me. Thank you so much. Falling has become my new scariest way to die."

"Okay, you're welcome," Scorpius assured him and pried Lysander's arms off him, he continued to cry and Scorpius awkwardly patting him on the shoulder. He wasn't sure what else to do.

It was a worrying thought though, why did the Shadows want to kill Lysander? Why give him his memories back if they were going to kill him? Were they false memories? Were they trying to be misleading? What were they even being misleading about? Why not just kill him instead of giving him his memories back? Was it linked to them wanting to kill him? Or maybe he was jumping to conclusions, someone had tried to kill him with poison but Lysander had been essentially thrown to his death. It could have been bullies who just unintentionally pushed him into fatal situation when trying to knock him down.

"Did you see anyone around when you were hit?" Scorpius asked of the still crying Lysander, the boy nodded.

"Of course I saw people, its lunch time!" Lysander burst out in a sob, "Lots of people are walking up and down the stairs. I didn't which of them cast the spell, it could have been anyone there or no one at all. I read about these smoke people that can-"

"Did you see anyone who had it in for you? Do you have any enemies?"

"No," Lysander moaned with a shake of his head, "I didn't notice anyone but I wasn't really paying attention, most people are so boring. I don't have any enemies, I'm a nice person. I try to be a good person. Why? Did someone tell you I'm their enemy? Do I have an enemy? What did I do to this enemy?! Are they going to go after my family?! What kind of person did I inadversantly wrong?! What am I going to do?!"

"I don't know, just calm down," Scorpius told him gently and Lysander burst into tears again, throwing his arms back around him.

"How c-can I b-be calm? I j-just ne-nearly died!" Lysander cried, sobbing uncontrollably, "I w-was falling and falling and falling and falling…"


	17. VI: The Eye of the Thestral

_**Thanks to:** Jizzle04, Colin Creevey, RandomGerman and Cal for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_Albus knows about Scorpius' Animagi training/Does Albus keep the Animagi training secret from Michael or does Michael too?_**  
><em>Albus knows about his animagi training and he helps keep it secret from Michael. Maurice knows as of last chapter but the other school friends don't, Scorpius didn't see the point in telling them<em>

* * *

><p><em>Xerxes didn't want to sound arrogant or anything but he was quite sure he was the greatest human being on the planet, he had saved someone's life and a muggle life no less. How many people could say that? And not only had he saved Edythe but he helped her, he listened to her problems – he was one step ahead with his Legilimency but her talking about it was more productive to the healing process – when she needed to talk and let her cry on his shoulder when she needed to cry, all the while offering advice, support and encouraging her to live and improve her life. And on top of that, he helped her out more practically. Checking on and caring for her grandmother when Edythe was in school, cleaning up the house and giving her money for things and food. How wonderful a person was he? Xerxes thought he might be a saint, he was the kindest person he knew.<em>

_He spent a lot of time with her, when not consumed entirely by suicidal thoughts she was curious about magic and magical world. She was amazed by the most common things, he found it really quite adorable and showing her spells almost never failed to draw a smile from her. She had a beautiful smile. In truth, she was quite a beautiful person and not just in appearance. She was very kindhearted and gentle, she'd go out of her way to help random animals, strangers on the street and even insects. It was really quite amusing and also kind of pointless, where had these random people and things been when she'd been about to literally throw her life away? Nowhere because and he alone had saved her. He took it as a good sign of her recovering though, taking an interest in things and it made her happy to think she'd made a difference._

_And of course he started sleeping with her, he actually waited over a month to make sure she was more stable from her attempt before making a move. She reciprocated of course, she was so alone, grateful and flattered really by his attention, she just wanted to feel loved but then didn't everybody? She was a bit reluctant to lose her virginity for a while but eventually caved and he should hope so, he deserved it after being so good to her and he'd been too busy with her for other girls so it was actually monogamous for the time being which was big for him. For a few months at the start of spring things were wonderful and he was quite satisfied, she lived only two floors below him and was went nowhere but school and grocery shopping so he could see her whenever he wanted essentially. Until May when she walked in on him during breakfast, he wished they delivered so he wouldn't have to go out and get it._

_"Hey Edythe…" Xerxes greeted her uncertainly, she was dressed for school and it was a school day, "Not that I'm not always pleased to see you but don't you have school?"_

_"Xerx, I'm pregnant," Edythe admitted and started trembling fearfully, her voice breaking from the effort of not crying. He stared at her in surprise for a minute, he had been lax in his precautions considering how frequently he saw her. Somehow, he'd also thought muggles would be harder to have children with since they were a different breed of human, "I've missed a few months and I took the test just now… I'm pregnant."_

_"Edy-" Xerxes was cut off as she burst into tears, he walked over to her and encircled his arms around her, he rubbed her back gently while inwardly excitement brewed once more, "Oh Edythe, come on. Don't cry, this is a wonderful thing."_

_"I-It is?" Edythe stammered out fearfully, pulling away just enough to meet his eyes, "Y-You're not g-going t-to leave me?"_

_"Of course not," Xerxes assured her and caressed her cheek, "Creating life is a beautiful thing, tough at times but worth it and we'll get through it together."_

_"I love you," Edythe whispered and buried her head back into his chest, he held her close._

* * *

><p>"Now do you believe us, Scorpius? Are you going to start taking this seriously?" Michael questioned of him after Scorpius told him and Maurice - the others were probably already at dinner since they had had a different class - about what had happened to Lysander, "Someone's gunning for you and Lysander both."<p>

"We can't be sure it wasn't the same person, it might've been unrelated," Scorpius protested and Michael threw his arms up in exasperation, "Lysander wasn't poisoned."

"When are these things ever coincidences?!"

"No one saw anyone fire a spell at Lysander," Maurice pointed out, "I think they used wandless magic to be more discrete and that's something the Shadows teach. Viola had to leave after her involvement in the kidnappings but there's a whole school of trained children they could've used to replace her, or were already there."

"What about the blood quill scars?" Scorpius wondered skeptically, "Shouldn't they have the scars like you and have an obsession with war?"

"They could have been taught to blend in and scars can be hidden, or it could be another of Xerxes' children. I know he had a bunch, more than just Carver and Viola. They were both trained but didn't have the scars because he decided to spare them."

"Even if you're right," Scorpius admitted with a heavy sigh, "What do we do about it? There are hundreds of students. It's not like we can check everyone in the school to see if they have tainted wands, trained kids might not even have tainted wands."

"Mine doesn't."

"Exactly!"

"We'll think of a way, we always do," Michael assured him, "In the meantime, we just need to be careful and keep an eye out."

"The question is: why do the Shadows want you and Lysander dead?" Maurice wondered curiously, folding his free arm, "You maybe I can understand since they're fools if they haven't realized your connection to Aaron but Lysander has never been involved so that can't be it, they're the ones who gave him his memories back so it can't be that he knows something they don't want him to. Pyrrhus was the one trying to kill him though, we still don't know why so it's possible he's still trying to kill him and this wasn't the Shadows at all so he could've snuck in somehow and wants you dead for some reason as well."

"Great," Michael sighed and rubbed his eyes, "So now its Florian or the Shadows, we can't even be sure who we're looking for. Florian can turn into a moth and knows Hogwarts from when he was a teacher, it might not be a student at all and he just snuck in."

"True, somehow I doubt the Aurors outside are patrolling for moths," Maurice nodded in agreement, "I'll tell Cassia to have birds kill any moth they see. I'm sure some birds eat moths anyway."

Scorpius supposed he couldn't argue with that, he still wasn't sure what to make of it or what to do about it. Why would Pyrrhus Florian want them dead? It was like Maurice had said, Scorpius was involved in things and had foiled his plans but Lysander hadn't. If Florian was on some twisted revenge mission then surely he'd have more reason to kill Lorcan then his twin since he'd stood up to him not Lysander, Florian had taught them so would be aware of the differences. They may be physically identical but their demeanors and mannerisms – not to mention house colors if they were in uniform - marked them easily as who was who, Florian knew this. Unless Lysander had just pissed Florian off in class or something and he was out for petty revenge against the poor, strange child. Or maybe his friends were wrong, Florian was after Lysander and the Shadows tried to kill him because they were Shadows. It wouldn't be the first time they had wanted him dead.

He tried to put it out of his mind and get back to focusing on his classes, he'd made up his mind to ask Rojer about the auras and if he didn't know then he'd try Professor Ashain in case it was some dark creature more related to defense. Scorpius thought they were getting a good grasp of the common processes used in practical alchemy, Rojer was having to hold their hands less and less and they were getting things done faster. Although progress did tend to feel slow still, some things just took multiple lessons to complete because of the complexity. They hadn't done any and Scorpius had since dropped the subject but he knew some more advanced potions would also take longer than even a double lesson. As usual, Scorpius stayed behind to help Rojer pack up the equipment with the guilt weighing on his mind.

"Good class," Scorpius offered as an opening, Rojer paused momentarily and slid him an odd look.

"Do you know that every class you stay behind and say this to me?" Rojer pointed out.

"Well you're a good teacher. Maybe you should even do it permanently."

"No, I do not like to teach and I never wanted to," Rojer shook his head vigorously as he started to wash up while Scorpius put away, "I wish to go back home, there I can work in the peace and the quiet."

"Can't argue with that, I wouldn't want to be a teacher either," Scorpius admitted and Rojer nodded in understanding, "I was just wondering something though because you seem to know a lot of things."

"All of my previous teachers would disagree with this but wonder if it pleases you."

"I was just wondering if you knew of any animals that could see auras."

"Auras?" Rojer repeated in confusion, "Describe these."

"Like a white or gray glow around a person with a kind of orb of light around the heart area," Scorpius explained and Rojer stopped what he was doing to stare at him, Scorpius wished Rojer's face was more expressive to figure out what he was thinking, "What-What is it?"

"You are the strangest boy," Rojer told him and dried his hands, leaving Scorpius alone without another word to clean up as he retreated into the door suspected of leading to his private quarters. Scorpius finished packing up, unsure if Rojer would return when the man did and with a small vial in his hand. He offered it to him, "Drink."

"D-Drink?" Scorpius wondered uncertainly as he took it, glancing down into the crystalline liquid it contained, "What is it?"

"Drink and I will answer. It is not poison and even if this was that then I can just save your life again," Rojer commented with a hint of a rarely seen smile as he sat on one of the workstation tables, Scorpius sat on the stool facing him.

Scorpius took a deep breath and nervously swallowed the vial, there was literally just enough for one mouthful. It was the strangest substance he had ever drunk, it was entirely tasteless and he almost felt like he was swallowing air. His eyes started to feel funny as if he'd just woken and needed to wipe the sleep from then, he couldn't help but rub them. When he reopened them, he noticed that Rojer too now had an aura. A gray glow surrounded him and in his heart was another orb of light, this one with a tint of crimson.

"Is this the auras you speak of?" Rojer questioned and Scorpius could only nod in surprise, the alchemist jerked his head at the vial, "This is named 'The Eye of the Thestral' and is supposed to show you their vision, supposed to let you see souls."

"Souls?" Scorpius repeated in shock while something else dawned on him surreptitiously, Rojer was a gray soul. He'd taken a life.

"There is more than one plane of existing, there is the physical realm and the… other one," Rojer started to explain, seeming to struggle for the English word there and giving up, "The worlds exist simultaneously overlapping but we do not, our bodies is in the physical and our souls are on the other but tethered to our flesh. Our minds are the link between them, the mind is part of the both and is holding us together. Thestrals are a special and unique creatures, they are not split in two and exist as flesh and soul at the same time in both of these realms. Because of this, their eyes see the flesh_ and_ the soul of men."

"Fascinating," Scorpius mused almost to himself, so it was Thestral eyes he'd transfigured into.

He usually kept his eyes closed to help focus though, he hadn't really noticed if his eyes had ever taken on another animal's sight or appearance. He knew it was unusual – although considering animagi weren't overabundant anyway, he wasn't sure how much – to have a magical creature as your animagus form but he wasn't sure how common it was to manifest some of their traits while learning it. After all, Wyatt had said the body was still figuring out what it was supposed to be and if everything that had ever happened during his training was part of his final form then he'd be some kind of mutated, monstrous freak of nature.

"I always thought so," Rojer admitted as he wandered back over to his desk, apparently having lost interest while Scorpius started off into space thoughtfully.

"I didn't know that about Thestrals though, I never heard of this potion before," Scorpius offered as he also walked back over to him, Rojer had started constructing something out of small sticks.

"It is Alchemy. And I am not surprised by this, I am probably the only one of the people in the world who can make it. There is few Alchemists anyway and this was invented by a serial killer."

"A serial killer?!" Scorpius blurted out in shock, for a split second connecting it to Rojer's gray soul, "Was it you?"

"No, it was not me," Rojer answered, throwing him an offended scowl, "It is before my time by multiple decades, he was a notorious serial killer right here in your country."

"Who?"

"Jack the Ripper. He was a Dark Wizard, he started doing experimenting with the souls of the victims when he ran out of experiments with the flesh of the victims. It is a cruel irony that he did actually learn a lot about the soul from these, a lot of what is known today and it is not more well-known due to being tainted by the badness," Rojer explained and shook his head, a disgusted expression on his face, "If you have to learn something by torture and death experiments like him then it is not worth learning, I would never do this."

"Neither would I," Scorpius agreed, his curiosity piqued but his eyes unable to shift from Rojer's soul, "You would kill though in other circumstances, wouldn't you?"

"Maybe."

"You _have_ killed," Scorpius specified and Rojer glanced at him as he stood.

"So have you," Rojer stated quite calmly and Scorpius felt his heart start to pummel his chest, Rojer had either taken some too or had at some previous time, "The both of our souls are tainted by blood."

"Who… Who did you kill?" Scorpius asked in scarcely more than a whisper, finding it hard to imagine the innocent child killing. He met Rojer's dark chestnut eyes but there was a long moment of silence, he wasn't sure he'd answer and feared overstepping his bounds.

"A man," Rojer admitted finally, averting his gaze and shifting uncomfortably, "A muggle. I did not know of his name. What about you?"

"A man," Scorpius muttered as he swallowed, his body shaking and his palms sweaty as he also averted his eyes, "He was a muggle too, a bad person. I err… I don't really want to talk about it."

"Neither do I," Rojer said shortly, sounding equally uneasy, "See you the next day."

"Bye," Scorpius stated, grabbing his bag and practically fleeing the room without even a backward glance at Rojer.

* * *

><p><em>Xerxes really didn't know what to say to that, he liked her certainly but he didn't know if he'd say he loved her. She seemed too preoccupied to notice his response so all was good, he was looking forward to being a father again especially since Senna wasn't the mother so he had more control. Edythe was extremely lacking in confidence, she was very afraid of doing something wrong that would hurt the unborn baby or worrying her young age and small stature would be bad for it or being inadequate as a mother when it was born and frequently looked to him for advice since he had Stephan. He would definitely get more control this time. As the months started to progress he started to realize another problem though, Edythe started showing and he found it really quite unsettling and repulsive to have sex with her when he knew his child was in there. He had the perfect excuse though.<em>

_"In the wizarding world this is just how it works," Xerxes concluded his lie explaining why he was going on a date with another woman that night._

_"But we're not in the wizarding world," Edythe protested, looking upset, "Do you really have to? I don't mind doing things with you."_

_"Edythe, that harms the baby."_

_"It does?"_

_"It does when one of the people magical and it's a magical baby, it's almost certainly a magical baby. Do you really want to take the risk that it could kill our baby? Don't you want to be a good mother? Am I the only one that what's best for our child?!" Xerxes insisted and Edythe put her hands up in defeat, she sighed heavily and rubbed her bump._

_"Okay, whatever you have to do," Edythe agreed and kissed him, "Bye."_

_Muggles were so gullible. Not that wizards were any less gullible about muggle things. He knew about both though naturally because he was brilliant and life really was good, even not long after that when Edythe's elderly grandmother died on her. It was quite fortunate as now Edythe could move in with him and in general good for the grandmother, she'd lost any sense of who she was years ago and Xerxes liked to think she was better off in the afterlife with her mind intact again. _

_"At least she's at peace now," Edythe agreed, sniffing as she'd just finished crying about it onto Xerxes' shoulder where she remained nestled against him while he kept his arm protectively around her, "Do you think we could name the baby after her if it's a girl?"_

_"Maybe as a middle name for Viola, it's my favorite name," Xerxes countered, trying not to sound desperate, "For a boy, I was thinking Andreas, Kyran, Aldous, Everard or Davin."_

_"I like Ethan."_

_"Ethan?" Xerxes repeated and she nodded against his shoulder, really rather disliking the sound of it._

_"It's my favorite name."_

_"On second thought, naming a girl after your grandmother sounds perfect," Xerxes spoke up to change the subject, he could just save Viola for the next girl. He'd prefer the grandmother's name then Ethan._

_He drank to the poor old dead lady next night at the Leaky Cauldron, drank way too much and ended up in a ménage a trois with two girls who were celebrating graduated Hogwarts. Edythe got a job waitressing to help with money, she wanted to be a nurse as a career – being neither rich nor smart enough grade wise to be a doctor or vet like she'd originally desired – but was putting it off until after the baby was born so the waitressing was temporary. _

_Xerxes wasn't complaining, it got her out of the apartment so he could bring women back there. He actually quite liked living with her though, she knew how to cook and it saved on having to keep bouncing between the two apartments. He thought it would be great when the baby was born, they could share the workload and much better for the baby to have both parents under the same roof. Things were good a few months, it was until September he got an owl from one of the women from his drunken tryst asking to meet. He obliged out of curiosity but was sorely disappointed to see it was the ugly one, her face was misleading as it was delicate, her skin milky and her teeth pearly but she was so burly and stocky._

_"What do you want?" Xerxes asked of her icily, not wanting anything to do with this woman, "What even is your name?"_

_"Maeghan," the woman introduced herself acidly, looking offended that he didn't know to the point of looking on the verge of erupting into rage, "Maeghan Maryanne Edwards... AND YOU BLOODY WELL SHOULD KNOW MY NAME BECAUSE I'M PREGNANT WITH YOUR BABY!"_

* * *

><p>Scorpius left Rojer in a rush, not wanting to have to explain about the muggles and feeling panic that Rojer knew he'd killed before. His panic eased though, he also knew that Rojer had killed and doubted he would say anything when Scorpius could just as evil say something about him. They also knew each other was a gray soul so regardless of the circumstances, they hadn't lost all hope yet. His panic reverted back to curiosity about Rojer, who had he killed? When? Why? Had he caused a hail of birds to attack his father's killers? That's what Cassia would've done and according to her, Rojer was also an Avisora so entirely possible. Maybe Maurice was wrong and Rojer had gotten away from Grindelwald's men, it would explain how he'd survived. Although it still didn't explain what had happened to cripple his leg or anything.<p>

He was feeling calmer by the time he'd put his things back in his dormitory and was walking down to dinner, really it was quite lucky Rojer hadn't asked why he had inquired about the auras. It was on that thought he got to the Great Hall around people again and he realized he'd never asked for the antidote or how long until the Thestral vision wore off, he was greeted by a sea of white auras. It was almost dizzying. He quickly hurried along to find his friends, they were almost all white auras except for Maurice and Michael. It was quite curious because they were different shades, Michael's was only a pale gray while Maurice's was a much darker shade. Because Maurice had killed more? Wait, Maurice had killed before…

"What took you so-" Michael started to say but Scorpius cut him off.

"Hang on a second," Scorpius interjected and turned on his heel.

He started walking up and down the tables of students, looking for anything other than a white soul as it was very likely the assassin had killed before. Some seemed a more off-shade of white but there were no gray, not in Gryffindor, not in Ravenclaw, not in Slytherin – the supposed bad house – nor in Hufflepuff. He stopped at Orous though as he didn't have a soul or immediately not one noticeable, there was a blur around him where the aura should be and a barely noticeable, weak glow from his heart which was more in a ring like an eclipse. Was that what broken souls looked like?

Scorpius tried to discretely walk past the staff table to get a good look, now they were more a mixture of varying shades of whites and grays. It didn't surprise him, anyone gray he knew to have killed before and anyone white he didn't think had. Cassia was a gray soul, evidently killing people with birds was enough to mar the soul and Antonius was just like Orous. Broken souls were apparently colorless, they'd had the light taken from them.

"Can we help you with something?" the man sitting in the Headmaster's chair asked in a squeaky voice and Scorpius jumped in surprise, glancing at… Weedy Larry.

He couldn't recall his name, just the childish nickname Cassia had mentioned. He was weedy looking, he was very tall but thin like a stick with prominent elbows and large, long-fingered hands. He seemed middle-aged, his eyes were a dull brown hiding behind small, circular spectacles perched on his nose and his short hair was more equal parts salt and pepper. He wore white robes that blended in with the white of his soul, Scorpius opened his mouth to say something but the sentence would've started 'sorry, Weedy Larry' so he settled for shaking his head mutely.

"Then go back to your table with ten less points from Gryffindor for disrupting the staff, you should treat your elders with respect," the Headmaster – forget it, Scorpius decided he deserved to be called Weedy Larry – snapped in his apparently squeaky and rather annoying sounding voice. Who took points for that? He nodded politely regardless at what he deemed unfair and started to walk back, feeling the beady eyes following him as he went.

"What was that about?" Albus complained as Scorpius sat down with them finally, he shook his head again. Deciding to tell them when the Headmaster's eyes were not on him.

The Thestral vision wore off by the time he woke up the next day and the week passed uneventfully, he and Rojer didn't speak again of their killings at least and there was no further assassination attempts. He also didn't get a reply from Molly until that weekend, the response was sorely disappointing.

_Dear Scor,_

_It's great to hear from you and I'm sorry for the slow reply but I've been busy, I'm sure you'll do great as Captain (sounds like you're doing good so far!) and on your NEWTs. Try not to worry about this Rojer stuff too much. I'm alright, I can't say more until I see you in person. Considering the way owls were treated in your First Year, I'm sure you're not surprised. You're halfway through the term pretty much so it shouldn't be too long before we see each other again anyway._

_Unfortunately, I can't meet you in Hogsmeade next week. I'm busy with some important things right now, I'm really sorry. I might be able to for the next one though, owl me when you know the date._

_Lots of love (and apologies),_

_Molly_

_PS: Good luck against Slytherin! _

"Well Michael, it'll be just you and me in Hogsmeade since everyone else I'm pretty sure is with their dates and Molly can't make it," Scorpius said with a heavy sigh.


	18. VI: Dark Lights

_**Thanks to:** Colin Creevey and Lucifersdaughter for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_Is the other teacher ever coming back? _**  
><em>Maybe, maybe not<em>

**_How many kids did Carvers dad end up havin lol?_**  
><em>Nine, ten if you count the unborn since he left a woman pregnant when he died<br>_

* * *

><p>"Hey Annie, can I talk to you for a second?" Dom questioned of the older woman nervously, Annie was putting away the groceries she'd just brought in.<p>

"You just did," Annie pointed out unhelpfully without pausing but Dom ignored it, taking a deep breath.

"You were right, I _am_ pregnant."

"I know it," Annie nodded as she continued putting the things away, Dom waited a second for her to say more but she didn't.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"What do I do?!" Dom demanded desperately, finally earning a glance from Annie who shrugged.

"I dunno, whatever you want. Nothing is happening right now this second, Pip's already out with Molly and Lat then Aurelius and Wyatt are out doing their animagi thing. Shadows are kind of inactive lately if you hadn't noticed, the ones in England are all focused on hunting Florian or us which doesn't help us deduce their plans and we still have no leads on saving Calderon or who killed half of Selwyn's men last month or why except it was something to do with a kidnapped kid-"

"I don't mean about that, I mean what am I going to do about being pregnant?!" Dom interrupted incredulously.

"Oh, I dunno. Why are you asking me?" Annie wondered before they were distracted by the sound of the door.

It wasn't the front door though but the door to Roman's room, he wandered out more nervously then Dom had and trembled. Roman Rivers wasn't looking good since his fiancée's death, he'd always been thin but it was still noticeable he'd lost weight. His face looked gaunt, his clothes disheveled and his dark hair in disarray, he also looked in need of sleep and a shave. Dom didn't know him well, he was her cousin Molly's maternal uncle but even she barely knew him. Roman spent most of his time in his room either crying or just being lost in his grief, he only really left to use the bathroom. His meals were brought to him and his laundry done for him, Wyatt, Molly and Annie seemed to put the most effort into caring for him.

"Well hey, look whose up," Annie said to him somewhat gently and patronizing as Roman shuffled over to her, "How are you doing?"

"I w-was wondering if there was anything I could do," Roman spoke very softly and hoarsely as he wrapped his arms protectively around himself, his shoulders hunching and his gaze drifting to the socks he was wearing with no shoes. He looked rather pathetic, Dom pitied him, "Y-You know, t-to help."

"Sure, you can help put the shopping away if you'd like," Annie offered and gestured to the bags, Roman slowly looked up at them and nodded a few times before moving to do it.

"Yeah, I-I can do that. I w-want to help."

"I know you do, you're doing great," Annie assured him encouragingly as Roman continued his task and she stopped to watch him instead.

"I n-need to g-get it together, b-be strong for my son."

"Of course."

"Annie, can I talk to you in private?" Dom insisted, not wanting the conversation she'd spent Annie's entire supply run working up the courage to speak about it while she waited for her return.

"I suppose," Annie reluctantly agreed and followed her into a seating area, "I'll be right back, Roman!"

"O-Okay," Roman's weak voice called back as Dom closed the door behind them.

"So what should I do about being pregnant?" Dom reiterated her original question and Annie rolled her eyes, opening the door again, "Annie!"

"Look, I'm not the one you should be talking to about this," Annie pointed out seriously, "I can help you with the health side but figuring out what do is really something to discuss with your husband."

"But I'm scared about how he'll react."

"So be brave and tell him, he's the one to talk to first and you know it," Annie offered her final advice as she left, leaving Dom to sigh and feel anxious.

She supposed Annie had a point, however she had wanted to talk to someone nonpartisan because she had a feeling Aurelius would freak out and knew it would stir things up with her family. At the very least with her father, she couldn't imagine him taking the news well at all. She slumped into one of the silent seats and put a hand to her churning stomach, their child had picked a really lousy time to exist, when tensions were still high with her father and they were in the midst of a freaking war that Dom was fighting in. Wars were no place for a baby. How was she supposed to fight in a war with a baby inside her?

"Hey," a familiar voice greeted her and Dom's head shot up immediately as her husband joined her.

She jumped to her feet and smiled instinctively to try hide the fact she was upset so he wouldn't ask so she could put off telling him because she still childishly wanted to avoid the subject. Aurelius Ashain was of average height but had quite a wiry frame, he was in his mid-sixties but didn't look it and could easily pass for one of his sons. He had a full head of extremely dark auburn hair that fell almost to his shoulders in faces, it framed a clean-shaven handsome face with dark chestnut eyes set into it and a perfect, pearly white smile that he gave her as he approached. As usual he was also dressed in robes of the most bizarre and clashing shades, he did have some eccentric tendencies that she'd come to grow fond of.

"Hey," she offered as he approached, pressing her lips against his gently when he reached her and he encircled his arms around her.

"You know, I think I actually might've found out something useful today," Aurelius told her cheerfully, seeming in a good mood. All the more reason to not tell him and ruin it, "I heard from a flock of geese, who heard from two pigeons, who heard from a mockingbird, who heard from an owl friend of its mate that in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry the little girl who can talk to birds has them keeping an eye on some students."

"Keeping an eye on some students?"

"Yes, because apparently she thinks that some humans are trying to kill them and have already tried. It could be connected to the Shadows, it's just odd Scorpius hasn't mentioned it to Varanian," Aurelius concluded, his smile slipping to look thoughtful, "Oh, and there's a new teacher who apparently can also talk to birds."

"Interesting," Dom mused, trying to care but her mind was being weighed down by the baby thoughts while Aurelius nodded and his smile returned.

"So how has your day been, dear?"

"My day? Good. Great. Nothing to report," Dom lied and his expression immediately wavered.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Nothing's wrong," Dom protested but he didn't look the slightest bit convinced.

"Something's bothering you, I can tell. What happened?"

"Nothing happened."

"Is it your Father?"

"It's not my Father."

"Did something happen to Molly while she was out learning stealth with Varanian or something?"

"No," Dom insisted while Aurelius continued to look concerned, "Just drop it."

"Did something happen to someone else?"

"No."

"Is it to do with the Shadows?"

"No!"

"Are you sure it's not to do with your Father?" Aurelius inquired, starting to look very anxious now and she snapped.

"I'm pregnant!" Dom blurted out and he took half a step back as if he'd been slapped in the face.

"Are… Are you sure? I think I'm too old to sire children."

"You're not too old, I told you! I warned you we still had to be more careful but you didn't listen and now I'm pregnant!" Dom burst out and threw up her arms in defeat, finding tears spilling from her eyes, "I'm going to have a baby, an actual living human baby. In the middle of a world wrenching war that I'm supposed to be fighting. And my Father is going to be furious out and you're going to freak and-"

"Shhhh," Aurelius interrupted gently and put his arms back around her, holding her tightly close this time, surprised but grateful for the comfort, "Shhh, Dom, it'll be okay."

"How will it be okay? I don't know what to do," Dom sobbed into his shoulder, "We're in the middle of a war with Shadows, soul-destroying monsters, massive amounts of death and pain and suffering, darkness. There's so much darkness, Aurelius, how are we supposed to bring a child into this world when there's so much bad?"

"Maybe that's all the _more_ reason to bring a child into this world, there fact there's so much bad is all the more reason to have something good to hold on to," Aurelius offered gently as he rubbed her back soothingly, "You need good things, they're like littles lights that show you just a little bit of the beautiful world you thought was lost forever in the darkness covering everything. It gets so dark you forget what the good looked like, forget that it's still there if you can just chase away the darkness. You don't want to be consumed by darkness, you want light. And the best lights are the people you love and who love you, for me that's my sons and my beautiful wonderful wife I am very sorry for not listening to."

"You could have a point," Dom admitted, smiling somewhat to herself at his words. She liked how he looked at the world, "But I still worry something bad could happen."

"Dom, you never stop worrying something bad could happen to your children," Aurelius said seriously, "It's part of being a parent not part of being in a war."

"What about the rest?"

"Your Father's issues are his own, he would have them whatever point in our lives we had children. And you can still help in the war, Austin and Roman don't leave the base so you can just stay and do what you can for here for the pregnancy. Once she's born, you can go back to usual and I'm sure we can arrange a schedule where she'll be cared for. If I could learn to take care of Brutus as an ignorant teenager when he was dumped on my doorstep then you can learn, I can show you. Babies are actually the easy part which you wouldn't think so with the sleep depravity but it is, it's when they get older that they get difficult."

"I have to say, you're taking this much better than I expected," Dom admitted, genuinely quite surprised.

"Well there is a part of me that wants to scream in terror and fly around in a mad panic but I figure that can wait, there needs to be a rule where only one of us can freak out at a time because if not then how are we going to support each other?" Aurelius explained and she smiled to herself again, pulling away to look him the eye, "That's what couples do. Or should do or… What?"

"I love you," Dom affirmed with the smile that he returned before she kissed him again, this time more lingering.

"I love you too."

* * *

><p><em>"Huh," Xerxes mused to himself, he really needed to stop having sex when he was too drunk to remember contraceptive spells.<em>

_"THAT'S ALL YOU CAN SAY?!" Maeghan shrieked at him, "MY FATHER CALLED ME A SLUT AND A DISGRACE TO THE FAMILY NAME, HE THREW ME OUT OF THE HOUSE BECAUSE OF THIS!"_

_"So did mine pretty much," Xerxes scoffed angrily at the memory and rubbed at his ear, "And could you stop yelling? If you're not going to discuss this as civilized adults then I'm going to leave and come back when you are, your voice hurts my ears."_

_"I don't want to talk!" Maeghan yelled but seemed to be trying to reign in her rage and continued through gritted teeth, "I want money for an abortion. Then maybe Daddy will let me go back home, I only have enough money with me for a few more nights here and I don't get paid until next week."_

_"No!" Xerxes burst out in shock, he didn't want his child to die. Maeghan looked like she was about to yell again but he held up his hand desperately and elaborated, "I want my child. I'll give you money to support you through the pregnancy if you keep it, make sure you have a roof over your head and are fed, if you keep the child after I'll give you money to baby things too and if you don't then I'll take full custody and responsibility. Just don't kill my child."_

_"IT'S NOT A CHILD YET, YOU IDIOT, IT'S AN UNBORN SPECK!" _

_"Well that's how I feel," Xerxes stated stubbornly as he folded his arms, "Take the money and keep the baby or pay for it yourself, I'm not helping you kill my own child. Even if it's unfortunate enough to have half of your DNA. So what do you think? And use your inside voice."_

_"I think I hate you! Don't you know how long I've had to think about this and when I finally come to a decision you make me go and have to rethink it all over again!"_

_"Yes or no?"_

_"I'LL THINK ABOUT IT!" Maeghan screeched, "NOW GET OUT!"_

_Xerxes was then glad to be told to leave and his ear drums thanked him, he could only hope she'd agree to give him the baby so he wouldn't have to talk to her again. Edythe took the news harder than he had, upset he was having a child with someone else in the first place and anxious at the thought of being overwhelmed by a second baby. Maeghan contacted him a few days later to agree to keeping the baby, he sent her enough money to cover the cost of the room until she was paid and advised to look for a place to live more permanently the sooner the better to work out how much money she'd need. He wasn't made of money, knowing how much he needed to give her would be useful. Maeghan's baby wasn't due until March whereas Edythe's was due in November, he was almost afraid to start dating but felt starved by October and caved. He arranged a date for October 22nd with the sister of one of his clients, however Edythe stopped him when he was literally about to walk out the door._

_"X-Xerx, m-my w-water broke," Edythe told him fearfully, her face had completely drained of all color, "I th-think th-the baby's coming."_

_"It'll be okay," Xerxes shushed her gently and encircled his arms around her, she clung to him shakily and he apparated them to the nearest muggle hospital. _

_He felt very torn though, on one hand he was eager to see his child born but he did also want to go out still. Like someone had case the Wand-Lighting Charm inside his mind, he suddenly realized he could do both. Labor took forever, he just had to make sure the date was fast and he should be back with plenty of time to spare. Really, it was the only thing he could do because he couldn't let down his poor date._

_"Edythe," Xerxes stated and took hold of her should gently as she started to waddle into the hospital, she turned back to him, "I'll be back as soon as I can."_

_"You're still going on your date?" Edythe wondered incredulously._

_"You don't want me to let this poor woman, do you? It's my first in a while and she'd be upset if she thought I stood her up," Xerxes protested and her eyes started to water, he wiped away the tears with his finger gently, "Look, we both read in the books that labor usually takes a long time. I'll be back long before the baby is actually born, I promise."_

_"Please Xerx, don't leave me now," Edythe pleaded with desperately, capturing his eyes with her beautiful sage green ones, "I've never asked you for anything before, I've done everything you've wanted, I haven't even complained about you cheating on me with those other women, I know the excuse you gave was bullshit but I still said it was okay because I love you. I'm scared, I'm really scared that something will go wrong, I don't want anything to happen to the baby. Please stay with me, Xerx, please, just do this one thing for me. I'll do anything you want, you can name the baby whatever you want just don't go. I beg you."_

_"I'm sorry," Xerxes apologized guiltily and she went to turn her head away but he cupped her chin in his hand and turned it back, her tears dribbled down onto his fingers, "Nothing will go wrong, I swear to you and if it does then I'll be back in time to help."_

_"Sure," Edythe said as she put a hand to her bulging baby bump, not sounding the slightest bit like she believed him as she went to turn away again but he again stopped her, "Xerxes, I'm in pain! I need the doctors, if you want to go then get the hell out of here already."_

_"I love you," Xerxes told her seriously and her expression softened as his lips pressed hers before he apparated away._

_Xerxes did kind of regret his decision to leave, he was distracted the whole date by thinking about Edythe and the baby. But he knew himself, if he had stayed then he'd have been by distracted thinking about his date the whole time. There really was no point in his being there so early anyway, the books had said it nearly always took a long time. It'd be uncomfortable watching her be in pain when there was nothing he could do about it, there was no point that they both suffer. Even distracted he still managed to worm his way into her mind to use it against her, she invited him back to her place after and he stayed true to his word about returning to the hospital when it was over. He was in a much better mood then he'd been in a few hours ago, he strolled up to the front desk with confidence._

_"I'm here for my girlfriend, Edythe Blake," Xerxes told the slightly plump but nonetheless attractive receptionist, "She called me a few hours ago to tell me she was in labor, I was out of town but I came as fast as I could."_

_"Blake? Are you Xerxes Seneca?" a passing nurse repeated and Xerxes nodded, she swallowed nervously, "I'm so sorry."_

_"Sorry? Why are you sorry?" Xerxes demanded and the nurse averted her eyes, he almost dived into her mind but somehow he was afraid to, "What happened? Where is she? Is the baby okay?"_

_"Maybe you should sit down and wait for the doctor," the nurse muttered and he stalked over to her determinedly._

_"No! I want to see her, take me to her. Take me to her right now!"_

_"Then I'd have to take you to the morgue," the nurse told him in a whisper and Xerxes backed away in horror, "There were complications… She said if it came down to it then we should save the baby… We did everything we could but she didn't make it, I'm so sorry."_

_"What-What about the baby?" Xerxes quietly, shakily falling into one of the waiting chars because if he didn't sit then he thought he'd collapse._

_"The baby survived, you have a healthy baby boy. Would you like to see him?"_

_"Of course I want to see him!" Xerxes snapped, his voice breaking as she scuttled away._

_He buried his face in his hands to try hide his sobs, he couldn't believe Edythe was dead. She'd been fine a few hours ago, she'd been alive. He knew some healing spells and he knew where Saint… something, the British magical hospital was, if he had been there then he probably could have saved her. He wasn't sure why he was crying so hard though, he hadn't realized he'd cared that much or maybe he was just sad his son had lost his mother. _

_He heard a cough and glanced up, wiping his eyes hastily as the nurse had returned with a bundle of squirming, sky blue blankets. He held out his arms and she handed him his son, his second son. The baby was much smaller than Stephan had been, he had tufts of red hair and when he opened his little eyes, Xerxes saw Edythe's sage green ones staring back at him. He cried as he smiled at the small baby that he was free to name whatever he wanted… What had been the ugly name Edythe had been so fond of?_

_"Ethan."_

* * *

><p>Carver Matthew Edwards stalked through the halls of unhappy memories, the Training Tower it was called, where Shadows sent children to become elite soldiers. He despised the place and the regime in general, he didn't think it was right for them to treat people this way let alone children. They started young too, deliberately to try make them forget their families so their only loyalty was to the Shadows. He was still quite angry at Harry Potter for not accepting his uncle's deal, these kids had had a real chance to be saved when Pyrrhus had murdered all the staff, he wasn't sure if all the kids had a chance at a normal life but he felt they still should've had the chance. It was too late now though, they'd essentially done the magical equivalent of changing the locks and hid its location. Even if the Ministry was told where it was now, they'd have a fight on their hands to say the least and they'd just move the kids to Greece or Turkey. There were some muggles slaves there too now, they did things like cleaning and cooking as far as he knew. They also could've been saved if Potter hadn't been so stupid, how had he not thought Pyrrhus' deal was worth it? Was he so caught up on petty squabbles that he was willing to sacrifice hundreds of lives, and children's lives at that?<p>

If Potter had just agreed then Carver wouldn't be in this mess, he didn't like his uncle's plan but he didn't see much choice. Reminding himself that seven lives weren't worth more than the rest of the world only did so much to ease his guilt, the needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. Still, when it boiled down to the better option between life on the run, joining the people trying to destroy the world or doing something – albeit drastic – to stop the war, Pyrrhus' plan seemed like the lesser of evils. He still didn't know if it would work though especially now that its mastermind was hallucinating dead brothers, they could be killing these kids for nothing so it was a gamble. At least when they died they'd die for something, it was better to die for a chance at peace or at least Carver thought so. He didn't want to die but he would if it was necessary, at least he'd know he died trying to do the right thing for once. He knew he'd made a lot of mistakes, he hoped putting an end to the Shadow Master helped atone. Either that or it was just another mistake he was making, he was dumb as mud so he couldn't be sure.

He wasn't at the Training Tower for that though, he was making a social call to wish his brother a happy birthday. Carver would be lying if he said he was a good brother, Xerxes had had eight children aside from him and his mother five so he had a grand total of thirteen half-siblings, all but two of them being younger. As a child he'd always resented this, he'd just be presented with a screaming bundle and told it was his brother or sister that he was supposed to love. He'd never understood why that was supposed to matter, never known how he was supposed to love this annoying crying thing that turned into an annoying whiney thing that constantly got in the way, especially since he didn't see much of them. While his views had mellowed and he'd grown to care for them, he was by no means close to all fourteen of them and hadn't always been good to them. He very much disliked Stephan and Viola, he also hadn't met the child his mother had been pregnant with when she turned her back on him. He did worry greatly for them though, they either had to live under the Shadows' or his stepfather's regime for the most part, then there was the sister risking her life in Hogwarts to kill the kids.

Carver sighed heavily as he reached his brother's door, knocking to announce his presence before unlocking it and entering. It was a decent sized room but very bare, there was a narrow bed in the corner with the bedding removed, a comfortable couch pressed up against the wall with a view of the barred window, a desk with the sharp edges turned to soft padding and a few chairs, there was also a door in the far corner that led to the also restricted bathroom. Ethan had a fragile mental state thanks to the Shadows' regime and his own opposition to hurting people, Xerxes had had to take precautions to keep his suicidal son alive and thankfully Stephan had ensured these remained intact even after his demise. Stephan may be a cruel bastard but he did care to some degree about his younger siblings, he had some loyalty to family. Ethan was tall like their father with a strong jaw but his features were much softer and his body very thin, he had short red hair like Xerxes but striking sage green eyes that carried thick shadows beneath them. He also wasn't alone.

"Carver!" Davin Dawson cried excitedly as he rushed over, he was his father's seventh born child who was seven years old. He was a scrawny boy with a tangled head of dirty blond hair and violently violet eyes, he threw his arms around him and Carver returned the hug, "Haven't seen you in ages."

"I know," Carver admitted as Davin pulled away, shocking Carver as he noticed a scar running down the boy's cheek.

"Did you know that Dad died?" Davin asked him seriously and sadly before Carver could comment on it, "They said that Uncle Pyrrhus killed him."

"Yes I know," Carver confirmed dismissively and gestured to the scar, "What happened to your face? They're not supposed to hurt you."

"Oh," Davin said and lowered his voice, his eyes widening slightly in surprise and he nodded his head behind him where Ethan was healing a boy he didn't know, "Got it protecting Cyrus ages ago, he's blind so it's hard for him to train and they're not kind to him. They were using a whipping spell and when they wouldn't stop I tried to help him so they disarmed me so I jumped in the way to protect him."

"Why the hell did you do that?!"

"It worked, they had to stop," Davin protested, "My Mommy said you should look out for the people who can't look out for their selves."

"You shouldn't sacrifice yourself to do it," Carver insisted, anxious at the thought of his brother putting himself in harm's way. Davin's mother had been killed by the Shadows when she found out about the Training Tower and intended to tell, he didn't want the same to happen to Davin.

"If I don't then who will? It's really rough for Cyrus and he doesn't deserve it, he's a nice person and he doesn't even want to be a soldier. Thinking of seeing his Mommy again is all that is keeping him going on, did I tell you they're not kind to him?"

"You told me."

"He's smart though and he can speak three languages, English, Greek and Arabic. I think the Arabic will come in useful when we take over Egypt, he can translate and stuff so it might be better for him then. Unless you want to help him escape and find his Mommy, her name is Leil-"

"All done," Ethan's soft voice spoke up from behind them and both brothers turned, seeing he was done with the healing.

"Thank you," Cyrus said in a small but grateful voice and Davin ran immediately back over to him, it gave Carver a better look.

Cyrus was small, maybe slightly younger than Davin with fair skin and much neater blond hair. There was no definition in his eyes, they were just all cloudy as if someone had captured smoke in them. It was the strangest thing though, Carver thought he looked oddly familiar or at least reminded him of someone. He couldn't quite put his finger on who though.

"Thanks, Ethan, you're the best," Davin offered to his brother grateful and hugged him as well, taking the wand from his brother – Ethan wasn't allowed to keep his own wand on him - and pocketing it before taking Cyrus' heavily scarred hand to lead him towards the door, "I'll see you later. This way, Cyrus, we should still have time for lunch. Bye Carver."

"See you," Carver nodded and felt sympathetic as the boys moved past him.

"That's another of my brothers, Carver," Davin explained to Cyrus as they left, Carver closed the door behind them.

"Let me guess, Pyrrhus needs to be healed again or maybe you need another of our family to sacrifice?" Ethan guessed incorrectly and rather unhappily as Carver approached him.

"Can't I just drop in to see my brother on his birthday?" Carver complained as he pulled up a chair to sit facing Ethan.

"Today's my birthday?" Ethan wondered in surprise and Carver nodded, "Huh, I didn't know. How old am I know?"

"Eighteen."

"I'm getting old," Ethan mused sadly and rubbed his eyes.

"We both are," Carver agreed, he felt too old to be only seventeen, "How are you doing?"

"Great. Every day is paradise when you're confined to a room and not allowed anything."

"They have to do that for your own safety, if you didn't keep trying to kill yourself then you'd be allowed out."

"I don't want to live in the Soul Eaters' world of cruelty and pain, I don't want to _live_, I don't want to be a soldier and a torturer and a murderer," Ethan insisted fiercely, "I just want to die. It's my choice and everyone should respect that, if anyone else was my father then the Soul Eaters would have killed me themselves."

"When Pyrrhus' plan comes to fruition, the war should end and you won't have to live in the Soul Eaters' world anymore."

"Pyrrhus' plan is going to fail, dear brother," Ethan told him, sounding very sure as he stood to pace around him, "He's going to get himself killed, you'll die with him, so will she and they'll even butcher Oathan because if they don't then Viola will."

"It will work, the war will end," Carver protested determinedly as he stood to face Ethan, the lanky boy now standing staring out of the window with his arms folded, "My siblings don't have to be soldiers and James can go back to his family before he falls too far."

"The war will only end in the Soul Eaters' victory, there's no hope, no one can stop it especially not a teenager, a child, a toddler and a crazy person. You're going to die Carve, you're going to die," Ethan reiterated and his eyes welled with tears, "Will you even live to your eighteenth birthday? Its only March but I'm not even sure anymore. And you're going to get my sister killed along with you."

"Martha wants to help, she wants the war to end just like I do."

"Of course she wants the war to end, our Father just died. She, Davin and I don't have mothers anymore, Father was all we had and now all we have our each other. She doesn't want to lose anyone else."

"It's her choice, she knows what she signed up for."

"Martha is a child!" Ethan yelled, "She's not even passed the test and you're just throwing her out there, locking her away in Hogwarts where she's alone, where you won't be able to protect her when the Soul Eaters find out. We know they've infiltrated the Aurors, Aurors who patrol the grounds now. Do you think it will be hard for them to kill her? They'll torture her until they get your names and then she'll die horribly, they don't want the marked children to die. And then there's Gray, half of them are part of Varanian's lot and Maurice is trained. I don't know where Varanian stands but you know Maurice will torture her until he gets your names, he didn't hesitate on his own grandfather and he won't hesitate to butcher her. She'll die horribly either way then everyone will be after you and then you die too. Both of you dead because you chose to chase the dreams of a madman."

"They won't find out," Carver insisted, he had no intention of getting his sister killed.

"You don't think they'll put it together when the marked children start dying? Martha and I are the only ones to have our father's name, Maurice will recognize it and so will the Shadows. You'll both die. Pyrrhus and Oathan too. Everyone will die," Ethan said, wiping at the tears spilling from his eyes, "And I'll just be alone, locked in my little room because I'm not allowed to so instead I just have to watch everyone I love die. The Shadow Master will win and when she does, everyone else will lose. We already have."

"Well what's your plan? What would you have me do?!" Carver questioned of his crying brother, throwing up his hands in frustration, "Give up and wait to die?!"

"I don't have a plan, I don't know what to do. I just want to die, there's no other way out and I can't cope with all this. I can't."


	19. VI: A Trip to Hogsmeade

_**Thanks to:** Cal and Guest for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_Who is this Headmaster?/Will we see him more often?/Does he have a role to play?_**  
><em>His actual name is Laurence Winthrop, he worked in the Department of Education in the Ministry before being given the Headmaster job. Not all the Headmasters had prominent roles, in fact you didn't see much of McGonagall and Elwood when they were Headmaster. He does have a role and you will see him, its just not too major<em>

**_Why are they saying Scorpius never told him? Are their messages being interceted? _**  
><em>The messages aren't being intercepted and Scorpius didn't tell him, he lied to Michael that he did because he doesn't want to bother Varanian with it<em>

**_Does Maurice know who Carver's siblings are? Would he know Martha if he saw her?_**  
><em>No. He knows Xerxes had several children but (apart from Carver and Viola) he doesn't know who, he wouldn't recognize Martha. He would recognize the Seneca name though<em>

**_What is ther world rojer talks of, is it important?_**  
><em>Ashylos mentions it in book 4, it links to souls so it is kind of important<em> _yes_

* * *

><p>Scorpius couldn't help but feel incredibly disappointed that Molly wasn't meeting him in Hogsmeade and very concerned, they were supposed to be trying to make it work long distance but she couldn't meet him or even take the time to reply to his messages? Had she lost interest in him? Was she less committed to the relationship then he was? Surly there was a way around this, after all Annie had been staying with Varanian all of last year and they'd still written to each other. Or was he being paranoid? It was only October still.<p>

"Of course you're being paranoid," Michael insisted when he expressed these worries to him at breakfast the day before the Hogsmeade trip, he threw up his hands in frustration, "And seriously?! You'll obsess over this before giving any thought to who tried to kill you?! You know you can't date Molly if you're dead."

"I know," Scorpius protested as the others started joining them.

"Well?" Albus questioned immediately of Michael, rubbing his hands together eagerly, "Have you thought about it?"

"No, the answer is no just like it was when you first asked me," Michael stated, throwing him a look of irritation.

"Come on!" Albus pleaded and stamped his foot on the ground childishly, "Grozda's friend is really nice, I've met her and I've shown you she's good-looking. What's the problem? You can at least give her a chance."

"The problem is I _don't_ want to date anyone right now. How can I make this any clearer? If you really want to help me then drop it."

"But-"

"Drop it," Maurice spoke up firmly, "If he doesn't want to date then you can't force him so leave it alone, you're getting as bad as Scorpius is about Rojer. There are more pressing concerns, like how someone is trying to murder Scorpius and Lysander. Cassia is doing more than you people and she's eight."

"Ashain's kids are strange people," Albus brushed it off dismissively, "Good but strange."

"And that's why one day she'll be Head Auror and you'll be sweeping floors for a living."

"Hey! I'm going to be a Potioneer, I'll have you know."

"A Potioneer who didn't even get an Outstanding for OWL Potions?" Maurice scoffed coolly and Albus' face went red, he looked upset, "Yeah, right. And that's your best subject."

"Leave him alone!" Abby snapped immediately, "What is your problem?! Not everyone can be good at everything like you can, you know?!"

"I'm just being honest," Maurice shrugged, looking somewhere between surprised and offended while Albus just stared glumly into his bowl.

"Are you even going to Hogsmeade, Michael?" Rose inquired, almost as if to change the subject.

"Wasn't planning on it," Michael brushed it off dismissively.

"You have to come," Scorpius insisted, "Molly's not coming and if you're not coming then I have no one, everyone else has a date."

"What am I, a potted plant?" Maurice spoke up irritably to Scorpius' surprise.

"No, I just thought you'd be going with Len-" Scorpius started to say but trailed off as he recalled the girl was dead, Maurice looked away upset while the rest of his friends looked at him incredulously.

"I'm going to go make sure my things are ready for the first class," Maurice muttered as he stood and left.

"Tres bien," Corin said, his tone sarcastic even if Scorpius didn't know what the words were, "Don't you know he still cries at night over her?"

"I'm sorry, I just forgot," Scorpius admitted guiltily.

"You forgot?"

"I just wasn't thinking."

"Well I guess now I have to go," Michael said with a heavy sigh, "One of us there should be thinking."

Maurice acted like nothing had happened for the rest of the day so Scorpius was left very uncertain whether to apologize or just say nothing, Maurice had never apologized to Albus. The next day, Albus was in better spirits despite taking up most of breakfast anxiously trying to decide what to wear to his date with Grozda which required asking them tedious questions and delaying their descent to breakfast.

"I'm of age now," Albus pointed out when they finally headed down, his birthday was earlier that month, "It's more serious dating when you're of age, I have to make a good impression especially on our anniversary."

"Alright, alright," Scorpius and Michael brushed it off.

"And you know, Michael, there's always time for you to dress up and maybe shave to go out with Grozda's friend."

"No!" Michael snapped irritably as they entered the Great Hall, going over to the others.

Albus opened his mouth to reply but something caught his eye and he did a double take, gazing at Abby who had dressed herself up for her date – as had Rose but Scorpius didn't think he'd be looking at his cousin that way – and let down the long golden hair she usually kept in a massive braid. Scorpius elbowed him when he noticed him staring and Albus staggered forward, he'd snapped out of it when he righted himself though and sat down across from her with a disapproving expression.

"So _that's_ what you're going to wear on your date, Abby?" Albus questioned of her, "Really?"

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Abby wondered, somewhere between worried and irritated to which Albus held up his hands as if innocent.

"Nothing. I mean I'm just saying if you have to try so hard to keep Pentakel interested by dressing like that then he can't really like you that much."

"Maybe I just felt like dressing up nice!" Abby protested angrily as Albus started piling food onto his plate, "And how can you criticize me when you're dressed like that?!"

"I'm taking Grozda to a fancy restaurant, I have to dress up nice," Albus pointed out as if it were obvious, he also paused and started adding extra to his plate, "Should eat up, last time I was there I was still hungry when I left because the portions are so smile."

"Oh, I see," Abby said suddenly looking more smug, she seemed to calm a bit she went back to eating her food much to Albus' puzzlement.

"See what?"

"Nothing. I mean it's just kind of obvious that if you have to try so hard to keep Grozda interested by taking her to fancy restaurants and showering with gifts then she can't really like you that much."

"It's not like that at all!" Albus snapped angrily, "Grozda likes me loads, I'll have you know. We're soul mates, we were made for each other, we're madly in love and one day Grozda is going to be the next Mrs Potter."

"_You_ say that but does _she_?" Abby countered, "You do all these romantic gestures for her but what has she ever done for you? What has she ever done to show you that she's invested in the relationship?"

"Abby, she's a _girl_," Albus scoffed, "Girls don't have to do that stuff, guys have to do stuff for them so we don't have to be sad and alone."

"Lenore learned sign language for me," Maurice pointed out before his expression turned wistful.

"That proves nothing!"

"Face it, if anyone is not interested then its Grozda in you," Abby stated triumphantly, earning a glare from Albus.

"That is not so true, we have a much better relationship then you and Pentakel," Albus insisted determinedly, "We're been together way longer and have way more in common, he doesn't even have a sense of humor."

"That doesn't mean anything! And just because he doesn't laugh at other people's names, it doesn't mean he doesn't have a sense of humor! He's just more mature then you so you wouldn't understand."

"You're just mistaking maturity for boredom."

"Well you're just-"

"You two just pack it in and eat your damn breakfast or I'll knock your heads together!" Michael snapped at them in frustration, the pair exchanged dark looks with each other but obliged and silently – albeit angrily – ate their food.

"If I could have your attention!" an irritating and loud voice spoke up, Scorpius turned unenthusiastically to the Headmaster, Weedy Larry. He had to put his wand to his neck to make his squeaky voice loud enough to be heard by the whole hall, sadly Scorpius recalled that Calderon just took care of that for Headmasters before… he missed his cousin, "This applies to any students planning to go to Hogsmeade today. Due to the recent trouble, the Aurors patrolling the grounds will also be patrolling the route to Hogsmeade and the town. This is for your own protection so do not be alarmed by their presence, they will be on the lookout for any suspicious behavior. That is all, have a pleasant day and we hope you enjoy your visit."

"Prick," Scorpius muttered under his breath, he hadn't forgotten being told off by him nor had he forgotten several Aurors were Shadows.

They filed out as usual where Professor Longbottom was there to check permission slips, starting from the oldest years and working their way down. Grozda and Sequoia Pentakel both got their slips checked first then waited around for their dates, Albus and Abby left with their respective partners immediately, walking as far away from each other as possible while still being on the same path. Rose had to wait for Corin's to be checked since he was the year below before leaving, Vern and his girlfriend Olivia left when they were checked while Orous had to wait since Lily was the year below. August watched them go unhappily and hung back with Hugo and Lorcan, Lysander seemed to have a date with a girl he didn't know and was grinning from ear to ear. Nott and Knight had also stayed back oddly, waiting with Byron and Pol who were now old enough to go to Hogsmeade and Knight went over to queue with them.

"What's all that?" Scorpius couldn't help but wonder aloud as Knight seemed to show the professor an extra piece of paper, unfortunately he was in earshot of Nott.

"They're orphans and their grandparents died in the last Hogsmeade attack," Nott spoke up solemnly, "They granted Kenelm adult status and guardianship of Byron since he's only a year away from being of age, saves on finding family or homes for them. He just wanted to make sure Byron's slip is accepted, he brought the letter from the Ministry just in case."

"Right."

"Plus we have to stay with Pol and make sure he's okay, it was the only way Koray would let him go since there's a lot of walking and it's stressful on his damaged lungs," Nott explained, "Why are you waiting?"

"No idea, Scorpius just decided to watch everyone," Maurice offered and Scorpius felt himself blushing.

"Come on," Scorpius growled and stalked off, the other two following.

"You'll randomly watch everyone get their permission slips signed but you won't think about the people trying to kill you?" Michael wondered as they walked in the surprisingly pleasant weather, it wasn't warm exactly but it also wasn't cold, windy or wet so he felt pretty content.

"I'm just not used to walking to Hogsmeade without Molly, I felt like I had to wait for her."

They walked in an odd silence, Maurice had to be because his translator necklace was awkward to use while walking, Scorpius wasn't the best at making conversation and Michael seemed too lost in his own dread of Hogsmeade. He noticed the Aurors as promised, walking on the outskirts of the route which immediately make Scorpius feel on edge considering some of them were Shadows and the Shadows had tried to kill him. It wasn't until they reached the gates to Hogsmeade that he had to interact with any of them though, a middle-aged female Auror was standing guard by it and watching those going through warily. Her graying brown hair was wavy and shorter than shoulder-length which served to frame a face lined by age, her lips were very pursed and her dark eyes were sharp. And when they saw Scorpius, they narrowed.

"Halt," the woman said and held out her arm to stop him, "You're Scorpius Malfoy, aren't you?"

"Yes," Scorpius confirmed uncertainly, "Who are you?"

"Syntyche Cistro, I'm in charge of the Aurors guarding the school," she introduced herself, sounding quite proud but looking at him with a look of loathing, "And I'm going to have to search you before I can allow you into Hogsmeade."

"What? Why? You haven't been doing that to others," Michael protested with a scowl.

"The others didn't give me cause to be suspicious. You two are fine to go, it's just Malfoy you must be searched."

"What have I done?" Scorpius demanded and her eyes snapped back to him.

"You're a known associate of Atticus Ashain."

"So? He's one of the good guys."

"Good guys?" Cistro scoffed, her face contorted with rage, "He's aided and abetted Death Eaters, Soul Eaters and fugitives. He deserves to rot in New Azkaban for the rest of his life for his crimes, helping a criminal makes you just as bad. And an Auror who betrays their duty to do this is even worse, it makes them a traitor. I can't stand traitors."

"He was an Auror, he fought the bad guys," Scorpius protested incredulously.

"Not if they were his brother," Cistro sneered and drew her wand, seemingly from nowhere until Scorpius noticed a wand holster he hadn't noticed prior, "Now spread your legs and hold out your arms."

"Fine but you know you're wrong," Scorpius stated defensively as he complied with the foolish position, Cistro used some nonverbal spell to make her wand light up and started to run it over his arms, "Professor Ashain fought his own brother and thought he killed him in the first war."

"But he didn't. Rather suspicious, don't you think?" Cistro commented and deliberately ran the wand around his head without warning him to shut his eyes against the glaring light, she paused to empty his pockets and throw the contents into the dirt, "And now here Brutus is, the right hand man of the Shadow Master. If you can call the deformed freak of nature a man, he's a monster."

"He believed Brutus was dead, I'm sure of it. I've seen how he was," Scorpius insisted, recalling how the professor had spoken of it in his First Year and how he'd reacted to seeing Brutus alive. He jolted as Cistro moved her wand down, feeling incredibly uncomfortable how close it was.

"People lie, it's just an act. He knew, I _know_ knew," Cistro stated darkly as she seemingly finished and stepped back, taking his wand from him as he did so, "Take off your jacket, I think the thick leather might be interfering with the process."

"That's ridiculous!"

"Do it. Or I'll take you back to Hogwarts to be interrogated, strip searched and your dormitory belongings looked through with a fine toothed comb," Cistro threatened and Scorpius reluctantly took off his jacket that she threw into the dirt, he gritted his teeth and returned to his position as she did the same again, "Enemies don't actively help each other the way the Ashains have on numerous occasions."

"The Shadows hurt his son, he's not one of them," Scorpius insisted and jolted again as Cistro moved her wand lower, "They're still brothers even if they're enemies, that's all."

"The Shadows let his son live, he is one of them. They're brothers in arms against the world not each other, Atticus Ashain is a traitor and you're a fool if you don't believe that, Scorpius Malfoy," Cistro told him seriously as she stepped back, deliberately stepping on his jacket, "He belongs in New Azkaban. His kids too, rotten little psychotic brats that they are and his head case of a father. And that new Alchemy professor, he looks like an Ashain."

"Are you done?" Scorpius questioned and Cistro reluctantly handed him back his wand.

"You're clear to pass," Cistro confirmed and Scorpius had to pick his things up off the ground, she didn't step off his jacket.

"Would you mind?" Scorpius asked through gritted teeth Cistro wordlessly walked across it to get off it, Scorpius picked it up and tried to brush the dirt off as they moved past her, "Cassia's right, she's a bitch."

"Are Aurors really allowed to treat people that way?" Michael wondered, looking outraged.

"I can kill her if you want," Maurice offered, sounding quite serious and Scorpius was quite sure he was.

"No," Scorpius shook his head and stopped to make sure Maurice was clear on what he was saying, "You can't go around killing people just because they're not nice."

"Hog's Head?" Michael asked and Scorpius inclined his head in agreement.

They started to head off there and Scorpius got his first good look at Hogsmeade, he'd been completely distracted before by Cistro. It was… different. The cobbled streets remained but the houses were mostly poorly constructed hovels, it improved into the town itself as the shops had been rebuilt more or less to their former glory.

"Why did they rebuild the shops properly but not the houses?" Scorpius wondered aloud as they entered the familiar pub that he favored over the crowded Three Broomsticks, it seemed more or less the same thankfully.

"Money," Aberforth the old, bearded bartender cleaning a glass offered in answer and the two approached the bar while Maurice scuttled away with a comment about getting a table, "The Ministry put a lot of money into helping rebuild Hogsmeade after the werewolf army, they don't have enough to help again so soon. Commercial places like shops or pubs make a lot of money so it's more economically viable, they got the gold while regular folk have to struggle alone because they can't afford it, most people are already in debt from the last time. People are lucky to have anything at all, there's more homeless than ever. The Aurors chased them out just now though, want to make it all pretty for the students."

"That's awful," Scorpius admitted, feeling horrible once more to think of how he lived in a lavish mansion while these people were in such hard ties.

"A Fire whiskey and two Butterbeers please," Michael said and Scorpius snapped back to reality immediately in shock, he caught Michael's eye, "What? This isn't Hogwarts."

"Hey!" Scorpius snapped at Aberforth who had actually gotten two bottles of Butterbeer and was getting the Fire whiskey ready, someone else entered as he was speaking, "He's only sixteen, he's not old enough for you to sell him Fire whiskey."

"He's sixteen?" Aberforth wondered in surprise, jerking his head at Michael.

"Yes!"

"No," Michael lied at the same time as Scorpius spoke the truth.

"He's birthday's the last day of August, he's a Sixth Year like me," Scorpius elaborated and Michael threw him a dark look, Aberforth looked between them and seemed to realize who was telling the truth.

"No Fire whiskey for you then, kid," Aberforth decided firmly and Michael threw up his arms frustratedly, "And if you try another stunt like that then you won't be welcome to Fire whiskey here even when you do come of age."

"I'll take it," the newcomer offered eagerly.

Scorpius was surprised to see he recognized him, he thought he was the same drunk from the last year who he'd figured out about Michael's drinking from observing. He was tall but very thin and dressed in tattered, torn robes – Scorpius was sure they were the same as last year – with filthy scraggly hair and beard, it was mattered with dirt with twigs and bits of moss stuck to it as well as his robes. His face was scarred as were his hands, wrists and what he could see of his arms, he also looked like he'd been beaten and the bruises also made it harder to deduce his age. One of his eyes were swollen shut and the other was bloodshot, he reeked of alcohol and body odor, he also oddly had no fingernails. He dropped some money onto the counter, Aberforth snatched it up but didn't give him the drink he'd requested.

"Come on," the man pleaded, "That's more than enough."

"You owe me way more than that, Lamb," Aberforth protested, "I told you, I'm not serving you again until you pay off your debt."

"That's a start!" Lamb whined desperately, looking on the verge of tears.

Scorpius threw Michael a dark look and jerked his head at Lamb, trying to silently ask him if that was what he wanted to end up like with his drinking but Michael wasn't looking at him. Aberforth shook his head and went to put away the door, Lamb lunged for it and there was a bang as Aberforth was apparently fast to the draw. Lamb was blasted across the room and slammed into the wall, he whimpered in pain like a wounded animal.

"Take that, you worthless dog!" one of the other patrons spat and Lamb fled.

"I'm going to make sure he's okay," Michael told Scorpius quickly before running after him.

"Michael-" Scorpius tried to protest but his friend was already gone, he sighed and turned back to Aberforth to pay for the drinks, "Make that three Butterbeers."

* * *

><p><em>Xerxes was not having a good time of things in the wake of Edythe's death, he missed her and he'd just gotten used to having home cooked meals again too and now they were gone. He also had Ethan who he was a single father to, he didn't have someone to share the responsibility as he hoped. He had to start having his lessons in his own home so he could be there for the baby, he couldn't afford a baby sitter when he had to keep giving money to Maeghan. Xerxes wondered how people did it without a break, he knew from Stephan babies kept you up but he also would get a break from him and time to catch up on his sleep when Senna took him. This was not a luxury he had with Ethan, which had the unfortunate knock on effect of interfering with his teaching because he needed to be focused. It also affected his romantic life, he couldn't go out looking for women with Ethan there and he tended to be too tired more often than not. The only women he saw were clients, Maeghan and once Senna when he had Stephan.<em>

_"Look, Stephan, this is your new baby brother. His name is Ethan," Xerxes introduced the toddler excitedly, the little boy crinkled his nose as if in disgust as he peered over the edge of the crib. Without warning, Stephan hawked and spat right onto Ethan's face. _

_"Don't like it!" Stephan moaned as Ethan started crying, Xerxes slapped Stephan angrily as his father had occasionally done and the older boy blinked in shock._

_"You will be nice to your brother, Stephan! He's your blood, your family not some random old man crossing the street. You be nice to your brother, do you understand?!"_

_Stephan nodded mutely, still looking surprised as Xerxes tended to Ethan and gave Stephan a quick hug to show he still loved him too. As a blessing, Ethan was actually a much easier baby then Stephan, he was much less fussy and easier to care for comparatively. Xerxes was extremely grateful, especially considering he had a third on the way. He took him to Edythe's grave on her birthday and told him of her despite the fact he was too young to understand yet, it seemed a start on honoring her. He wanted Ethan to know of her, after all he knew nothing of his mother after she'd left and didn't want his kids to feel cut off like that. It got him thinking a lot about his mother, she could be dead for all he knew and despite his resentment for her, he would like to find her because she'd always be his mother albeit a terrible one. He would start looking for her again, when Ethan was slightly older and he had time of course. It was the end March when he received an owl, informing him of Maeghan being in labor at St Mungo's and he went to go be there like he hadn't been for Edythe._

_"She doesn't want you in there," the Healer told him with a disinterested shrug, "She says she doesn't like you and you can wait outside."_

_"But it's my child," Xerxes protested._

_"It's hers too and currently her wishes are slightly more important so if you could please wait outside, we'll inform you when the child is born and you can see it."_

_Xerxes was forced to abide by the idiot Healer's rules and wait with Ethan, who as sleeping peacefully. And he waited. And he waited. And then he waited some more. Eventually he had to leave because Ethan was starving and he also had to cancel some classes, the child still hadn't been born when he returned. Bitterly, he couldn't help but feel annoyed that Ethan had been so quickly when he'd been gone just a few hours while an entire day later and Maeghan still hadn't had her baby yet. If they had been reversed then Edythe would still be alive. Finally though, the Healer did return and he was allowed in to meet his son. He was quite disappointed, he already had two sons and would really like a daughter for a change, Viola. He was also quite surprised when he saw the baby Maeghan held, he was a big baby. Ethan had been small for his age, Stephan average and this boy was large for his age._

_"I blame you," Maeghan commented immediately, looking just as disappointed as he did, "He's a fat, ugly lump. I thought babies were supposed to be cute and cuddly?"_

_"He has just been born, give him a break," Xerxes protested in defense of his son, the boy's beady eyes were surveying them sleepily, "Look, Ethan, that's your new baby brother."_

_"Ethan? That's a stupid name."_

_"I know but it's the name the mother wanted."_

_"Well don't let him drool on my baby," Maeghan insisted and Xerxes shifted his position, wiping Ethan's mouth as he did so._

_"Have you thought of any names?" Xerxes wondered, partly to change the subject and partly because he did want a name for his child._

_"I was going to call him Matthew."_

_"Matthew. Not too bad."_

_"But now he's been born, I'm calling him Carver since I feel like he carved his way out of me. Matthew can be his middle name."_

_"That's a stupid reason to name him!" Xerxes protested irritably and Maeghan shrugged._

_"WELL TOUGH! WHEN SOMETHING CARVES ITS WAY OUT OF YOU THEN YOU CAN NAME IT WHAT YOU WANT BUT I WANT TO CALL HIM CARVER SO I'M GOING TO BLOODY CALL HIM CARVER!" Maeghan screamed at him and the apparently named Carver immediately burst out crying at the disruptive noise, "WELL GREAT, NOW YOU'VE GONE AND WOKEN HIM UP! SHUT UP, CARVER!"_

_"You can't tell a baby to shut up, they don't understand English," Xerxes pointed out and Maeghan actually looked very surprised at this, "This can't be news to you?"_

_"I knew they didn't talk but I thought they could understand it surely, does Carver have brain damage? How are you supposed to get them to stop crying if they don't understand when you tell them to stop?" Maeghan wondered curiously, looking genuinely concerned. Xerxes pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed, suddenly he missed single fatherhood._

* * *

><p>Scorpius joined Maurice at the table he'd selected with the three Butterbeers, one for Michael when he got back. He sipped his drink and felt the warmth of the brew filling him, it was a nice feeling. It felt strange to be drinking it without Molly though, he said as much to Maurice and the deaf boy looked at him quite coldly.<p>

"Scorpius, my girlfriend is dead," Maurice pointed out, "Molly may not be here right now but she's currently living. Be glad."

"I'm sorry," Scorpius muttered, averting his eyes and feeling quite foolish.

"Why do you like this place?"

"Molly liked it. It's less crowded and quiet, I like that."

"I'm deaf so everywhere is silent to me," Maurice said as he sipped his drink, "I see your point though. My experience with hearing was not pleasant, I don't know how you people stand it. I like the silence."

"I guess we're just used to it. It'd be as strange for me to suddenly go deaf as it is for you to hear."

"True enough," Maurice nodded and the conversation actually went silent, Michael still hadn't returned.

"So how are things with you and Orous?" Scorpius asked to break the silence as much as anything, "He doesn't seem to talk to you much these days."

"I know, it's strange," Maurice agreed, his neutral expression showing a hint of worry, "He's been like this since he got better, it's like he avoids me and avoids talking to me then if he has to then he keeps conversation minimal and leaves as much as possible. At first I thought it was just because he was recovering but now I don't know, it was awful all summer."

"Have you tried talking to him about it?"

"No. Why would I have done that?" Maurice questioned, sounding as if he didn't know.

"Because if you don't talk to him then you won't find out what's wrong and be able to move past it," Scorpius pointed out and Maurice nodded slowly in understanding before going quiet again, "You don't seem as obsessed with war these days."

"Just because I don't talk about it constantly, it doesn't mean I don't think about it. Although Lenore did teach me there's more to life than just being a soldier," Maurice answered and shifted his position slightly, "I just don't feel like talking as much, all you people do is tell me to shut up about it anyway. Especially you. I'm trying to figure out who's trying to murder you and you're obsessed over a teacher, I think Rojer would actually find it quite disturbing."

"I can't help it, I feel so terrible," Scorpius admitted guiltily in a whisper, "I liked Ashylos, he was a good man, he was a hero. But he's dead now, deader than the dead. Because of me. And then his last child who he worried for walks into my life to save mine, I punched him in the face. How am I supposed to move past it?"

"Have you tried talking to him about it? Take your own advice."

"I can't just tell him that!"

"You can," Maurice insisted and looked as if he had an epiphany, "And you will. You have a week to talk to Rojer or I will."

"You can't be serious?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Maurice said seriously and Scorpius could only gape in surprise, "You need to get your head back in the game, not obsessed and focused on this. You talk to him in a week or I will talk to him for you."

"I'm not going to let you do that," Scorpius scoffed and Maurice gave him a cold smile.

"Good luck stopping me."

Scorpius spent the better part of the day trying to convince Maurice otherwise but the deaf soldier seemed quite determined to stick to his ultimatum, he'd almost forgotten that Michael was supposed to return until their friend joined them. Not Michael though but Albus, who slumped into his seat and helped himself to the cold Butterbeer that had originally been for Michael. Where was he anyway?

"Don't you have a date?" Maurice wondered of Albus curiously.

"Grozda wanted to meet up with some friends and do some shopping as well so she cut it short," Albus explained and looked somewhat concerned, "You don't think Abby's right, do you? About Grozda not liking me as much? I told her I loved her, she just smiled and said 'aww I think you're great too' then kissed me and asked if I'd mind if she left early to meet her friends to do some shopping. So I figured since the others are on dates, I'd come hang with you guys and squeeze some more Hogsmeade time in"

"She is from another country, maybe it's a cultural thing."

"Yeah, a cultural thing," Albus repeated, looking more optimistic, "That could be it."

"Maybe," Scorpius muttered, in truth he really didn't know, "You didn't happen to see Michael out there, did you? He ran off to make sure some drunk was okay and we haven't seen him since."

"Nope. Didn't see him," Albus shook his head before snapping his fingers as something seemed to occur to him, "But you know who I did see, strangely?"

"No."

"His sister. The one with half her face all clawed and nasty."

"Her name is Agnes," Scorpius provided and Albus nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, her. I saw her. And even weirder was that she was with Lenore's uncle, the Death Eater guy."

"His name is John," Maurice offered, looking puzzled, "Are you sure it was him?"

"It looked like him, he had a scar on his face though."

"John didn't have a scar on his face the last time I saw him."

"Well he does now," Albus scoffed as he sipped Michael's cold Butterbeer.

"Well are you sure it was Agnes?" Scorpius wondered, "She's a muggle and a child, why would she even be in Hogsmeade."

"Oh yeah, she waved," Albus pointed out and Scorpius scowled in confusion.

"What would Michael's muggle half-sister be doing with Lenore's Death Eater uncle?"

"I don't know, that's why I thought it was worth mentioning. It's such a weird combination."

"Maybe it's not them and just people using Polyjuice?" Maurice offered, earning looks from the both of them.

"Who would even want to _pretend _to be Michael's muggle half-sister hanging out with Lenore's Death Eater uncle?"

"Fair point. It is rather odd, unless you were mistaken."

Scorpius wondered if the bizarre occurrence had anything to do with the fact they'd had to fake their deaths, he wasn't sure how John would be involved though. Although to be fair, he didn't know much about either of them. He'd have liked to inform Michael of it and ask his opinion, too bad his friend was nowhere to be found. They didn't actually see him until they left to go look for him, he was staggering over to them and grinned when he saw them.

"H'Was just going looking for you guys," Michael greeted them with a heavy slur to his words, Scorpius felt immediately angry.

"Michael, are you drunk?" Scorpius demanded and Michael nodded without hesitation, "You s-"

"Hey, I don't have any on me," Michael pointed out, opening his arms as if to show them there was nothing, "Y'll only get in trouble if you have it on you and I don't, they can't punish _you_ for me for that so it's good. We drunk it already."

"Michael-"

"Don't yell at him," Albus interrupted, looking bitterly disappointed while Michael nearly fell as he took a step back and gave a lopsided grin.

"I's don't mind," Michael told them, holding out his arms again and nearly tripping over his own feet, "Yells if you want, I'm okay."

"He's drunk, he's not going to register what you're saying. Yell at him later, we can take it in turns."

"_Imperio_," Maurice cast on Michael, shocking them both while the deaf boy just shrugged as he pocketed his wand while Michael immediately stood normally, "Unless you two have a better idea on how to get him past the Auror guarding the gates who has it out for Scorpius."

"Fine," Scorpius agreed through gritted teeth and started off at a fast pace, wanting to get back as soon as possible, "Don't wait for me to be searched if she does it again, just go."

"Okay."

"And don't use Dark Magic so casually."

"Especially not Unforgiveables," Albus hissed, if Maurice was listening then Scorpius knew he wouldn't care, "So what about this Auror?"

Scorpius filled Albus in about their entrance as they walked, it helped take his mind of his anger at Michael for getting drunk, Maurice for using the Imperius Curse and giving the ultimatum and himself for letting it happen. He was also saddened as he passed Myriam Leebin going back into her house in the way out, it was one of the hovels. Did his mother know her closest friend was living in a one-story, lopsided piece of crap that looked like something a young child had drawn? He would've said hello but she didn't see him and had already gone in by the time he reached her, it only made him feel guiltier. He could just destroy the souls of heroes and go back to his lavish mansion because he was a Malfoy while others struggled.

Cistro was still guarding the gate and let his friends go by but Scorpius was again subject to search, this time they didn't wait for him as he'd said and had the foresight to take of his precious leather jacket beforehand to try put it down on a cleaner bit of ground. He trudged back to the castle still unhappily, Maurice had taken the curse off Michael and he was now drunkenly rambling when Scorpius came in. What was he going to do about Michael's drinking? He sighed heavily before being distracted by an ear-splitting screech, Scorpius grabbed Maurice – who hadn't heard it and seemed quite oblivious – to drag him to investigate. They were still screaming, it was coming from one of the dormitories in the Fourth Year. Lysander. They burst in and sure enough, Lysander was the one in peril.

He seemed to be sinking into his bed, the bedding suddenly looked like it was made of liquid or sinking sand and Lysander was drowning in it to the point only his head and hand remained visible. Some of the others from his year were trying to pull him out but stopped as it just made him sink faster, Scorpius whipped out his wand and tried levitating him out but it had no effect. Maurice was weaving a complicated motion with his, abruptly there was a boing sound and Lysander was thrown from the four poster which suddenly seemed to solidify. The blond was spewed out onto the ground, covered in scarlet and gold ooze like the bedcover and gasping for breath. The first time hadn't just been a fluke, someone was definitely trying to kill Lysander. He couldn't ignore it.


	20. VI: Final Masquerade

"Sleep well?" Scorpius demanded of Michael as loudly and deliberately close to his ear as possible the next morning when everyone else had gone to breakfast, he startled awake with a start and cringed.

"I was until you yelled in my ear," Michael mumbled into his pillow while Scorpius tore open the curtains, making him cringe even more at the flood of light, "You're not mad about the drinking are you?"

"Of course I'm mad about the drinking!" Scorpius exploded at him, "You ditch us to go get wasted, don't you know how much trouble you could've be in?!"

"I didn't mean to ditch you," Michael insisted, his voice sounding hoarse, "I went outside to see if that guy was okay and he begged me for alcohol, I said I couldn't because I'm under age so he suggested I give him the money and he could buy it. I-I couldn't say no to that, it's been forever since I had a drink."

"It's been less than two months!"

"Well it feels like longer, besides I didn't bring any back with me so you couldn't get in trouble."

"_You_ could've still gotten in trouble for being drunk! We had to go straight by that Auror who hates me because I know Professor Ashain, I wouldn't have put it past her to crucify you just for knowing me."

"My worry was never for myself," Michael pointed out as he buried his face into his pillow with a groan, "I feel like crap. That Fire whiskey really has a kick so could you please stop yelling so much?"

"Well it serves you right for drinking it!" Scorpius yelled at him loudly and yanked away the blankets, "What were you thinking?! And you went off with that random guy, he could've been a Shadow! Someone has tried to kill me and Lysander twice now, _you_ could be next!"

"_Now _you care about that?" Michael wondered as he groggily sat up, letting his head drop back into his hands as he groaned again, "And that guy's not a Shadow. He's a werewolf, he was turned in Hogsmeade like I was when he was trying to protect his wife and baby daughter. After he turned, his wife died trying to protect the baby from_ him _while still not wanting to hurt him. He killed his own wife, she died horribly at his own claws and jaws because she was unwilling to hurt him."

"You drank with him because you felt bad for him?!"

"No, he only told me after," Michael stated as he stood, he looked like crap, "I just want you to remind Albus about that next time he tells me to date."

"You-"

Scorpius was cut off mid-sentence as Michael bolted for the bathroom, he followed in time to hear the sound of Michael retching. He patiently waited for Michael to finish and come back over to clean himself up, he leaned in the doorway scowling disapprovingly and folded his arms.

"You have a problem, you know?" Scorpius pointed out, trying to be calmer.

"I have a lot of problems, Scorpius," Michael said tiredly as he splashed water on his face, he sighed as he looked into the mirror, "I don't even recognize myself anymore."

"The drinking isn't helping."

"It's helping me," Michael insisted and turned back to him, "What do you want from me, Scorpius? An apology? I'm sorry I left you to go drinking. But I'm not sorry I'm drinking and I don't intend to stop, I won't drink inside Hogwarts to avoid what happened with Rutherford but outside is fair game. If you don't like it then tough."

"It's not helping you, Michael, you may feel like it is but it's not. You-"

"Wait, did you say two attempts on Lysander?" Michael interrupted, seeming to only now be registering what Scorpius had said earlier.

"Yes, you missed it when you were drunk but his bed tried to drown him or something," Scorpius informed him testily and Michael looked concerned, "See what you miss out on when you're drinking?"

"At least I'm not missing out on it because I'm obsessing over Rojer," Michael countered and Scorpius tried not to look embarrassed as he kept the subject on track.

"It narrows it down though, it had to be someone who didn't go to Hogsmeade so almost certainly a First or Second Year unless an older student stayed."

"Martha."

"Lysander is a Gryffindor and it happened in his dormitory, only a Gryffindor would know the password and Martha is a Hufflepuff so it couldn't be her," Scorpius pointed out and Michael ran his hand through his already tangled mane of hair, making it worse, "What the hell do you even have against this poor girl?"

"Well I don't know then, thinking is hard right now."

"I'm not surprised. And stop trying to change the subject!"

"What is the subject?" Michael wondered in confusion, cringing at the raised volume again and Scorpius threw his arms up in exasperation.

"Your drinking!"

"Are you still on that?" Michael complained and rubbed his head as if it pained him, "I think I've said all I wanted to say on the matter, unless you have anything to add."

"Sometimes you're the bravest, kindest and most self-less person I know," Scorpius told him in irritation, "And sometimes you're the most hypocritical, self-centered jackass."

Scorpius stalked off without another word, feeling quite frustrated. For someone good at helping people, Michael was terrible at letting people help him. Or maybe Scorpius was just bad at helping people, he tended to do more harm than good despite his best efforts. He was in a bad mood for the rest of the weekend, he couldn't even throw himself into his animagi training because he was doing for Michael and he was mad at him. He did finally 'ring' Varanian to fill him in about the murder attempts, using the communicating portkey rings. Varanian's response was much like Scorpius would've expected: 'why didn't you tell me sooner?' Scorpius could only apologize in response. Varanian also seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Maurice but he did contribute something new.

'Only thing I can think of in common is wrists,' Varanian's words appeared on the ring, 'The scars the Shadows gave you both.'

"Then why only two out of five?" Scorpius questioned, pressing the wand tip to the ring so his words would appear on Varanian's ring.

'Maybe they're going one at a time. Could be wrong though, just a thought. Be careful.'

Scorpius thought that was fair enough and in Hogwarts itself they were taking steps to protect the very frightened Lysander, Maurice magically scanned his dormitory when Lysander was going to bed and they made sure he was never alone. Maurice stayed with him during all his free time and in classes Lorcan, Lily, Hugo and August made sure to stay with him and keep an eye out. At night, Maurice would put a protective enchantment on the door and Scorpius was supposed to check to make sure Lysander was okay before he went to sleep as he stayed up late at night for his training. Plus, Scorpius could hear which was useful in dark of night. The darkness was increasing as winter drew closer, October shifting to November that very week.

If Scorpius had thought Maurice would forget about his ultimatum because he was busy with his new duty to protect Lysander, he was wrong. Every mealtime after Alchemy that week, Maurice would ask him if he'd told Rojer yet. He hadn't, he hadn't even tried. It had seemed the best and only solution at the time but when he tried to put it into words, 'I destroyed your father's soul to save my friend and stop the bad guys getting this scepter' it didn't sound so good. Was there any good way to put that? And what would Rojer say? Would he just yell or would he attack him? Would he try to kill him? He had killed before after all and Scorpius wouldn't blame him for being upset, he was upset with himself after all. Would he throw him out of the class? Would he lose his opportunity to learn about soul?

"H-Hey," a young offered, jolting Scorpius in surprise as he was in his dormitory having just gotten changed to go to a Quidditch practice. He spun to see Antonius Ashain standing restlessly in the doorway, fiddling with his hands with his dog by his side.

"What are you doing here?" Scorpius wondered in shock and Antonius looked quite put down.

"I erm… th-thought maybe we could hang out or something…? I-If you'd like," Antonius stammered out nervously, "I haven't seen much of you this year. And you shouldn't really be alone with people trying to kill you out there."

"Well sorry, little buddy but we got Quidditch practice just now," Albus pointed out and patted the boy's head affectionately, "You can watch though if you'd like."

"He means _how_ did you get in here?" Michael spoke up, "You need the password."

"Oh, I just asked my Dad," Antonius explained as if it were obvious, "The staff know all the different house passwords."

"Maybe some other time but we really need to get out onto the pitch now," Scorpius offered gently and Antonius nodded in understanding before trudging away with Hope while the trio headed down to the pitch, his head hung almost in disappointment.

"Isn't that interesting about the professors?" Michael commented as they walked, "It widens our search pool for assassins."

"You think one of the professors is trying to kill me?"

"No, I think Martha is trying to kill you."

"Err… Martha isn't a professor," Albus pointed out in confusion, Michael rolled his eyes.

"No but Koray is and he happens to have two kids in Hogwarts, the younger of which happens to be friends with Martha," Michael explained, "She could've asked the Koray girl to ask her father for the password to get into Gryffindor Tower, she is back on the suspect list."

"Just because Professor Ashain told Antonius, it doesn't mean Professor Koray would tell his kids as well," Scorpius protested defensively, "For all we know, he wouldn't be so free with the passwords."

"And for all we know he _is_ free with the passwords. We should ask one of the Koray kids."

Scorpius supposed it was a possibility although he still didn't believe Martha was the assassin, she didn't seem suspicious to him and in truth he just felt bad for her, besides she'd been a white soul when he'd looked with the Eye of the Thestral potion. He tried to push it out of his mind for the practice, being a good Captain was still important. Martha was watching again and as usual, stayed behind to help him and Michael with the equipment.

"You still friends with the Koray girl?" Michael demanded of her, almost accusatory making the small girl jump and nearly drop the bats she'd been carrying.

"Yeah, Auriga is my best friend," Martha admitted and Michael nodded, continuing to glare at her darkly and her delicate freckled face wrinkled in worry, "Why? What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, he's just grouchy because of the full moon next week," Scorpius interjected and Martha glanced back to him with her cloudy gray eyes, quickly averting them and blushing slightly as they continued carrying the equipment.

"Okay. I'm sorry, it must be tough being a werewolf," Martha nodded and turned her attention back to Michael, he gave an indistinguishable grunt as a reply, "Do you really have to take Wolfsbane to stay sane during the transformation?"

"Yes," Michael answered in a growl, "Every day for a week up to the full moon."

"What does it taste like?" Martha wondered curiously and Michael's look was practically murderous.

"Disgusting."

"I'm sorry," Martha offered apologetically, earning only another dark look from Michael.

Scorpius made a mental note to snap at him for being so mean to her later and did so as soon as they parted ways even, Michael could only shrug disinterested and reiterate he thought she was suspicious. The week came to a close and his Friday ended with Alchemy, the last class of the week and his last class with Rojer where he was supposed to tell him about Ashylos. He stayed behind as usual to help pack up the equipment, remind him oddly of Martha. Was it really that suspicious she stayed behind to help when he did the exact same with Rojer?

He chickened out yet again and left Rojer still obliviously, wondering if he could get away with lying to Maurice that he'd told Rojer. Considering he'd undoubtedly ask about the reaction and Scorpius could only envision bad ones, he thought not. He was so anxious about it that night he barely slept, he had to tell him or Maurice would. He actually seriously considered letting Maurice just tell him which made him realize just how much he did need to tell him, Rojer should hear it from him.

And so after lunch, he checked to make sure Rojer was in his tower – it was a Saturday after all, staff had more freedom – before heading up the steps to check on him. Scorpius was so used to just walking in that he didn't knock despite the fact it wasn't a class, not thinking. Rojer was sitting at the front as usual, working on a massive building structure made entirely out of dice. His eyes drifted to Scorpius as he entered though, his usual grim expression still in place rather than any kind of surprise.

"There is no class," Rojer pointed out as his eyes drifted back to his building, continuing his construction, "There is never class on this day."

"I know," Scorpius admitted, feeling his heart pounding anxiously. He decided he'd try to ease into it, "Why erm… Why do you make those buildings out of random things?"

"Because I like to keep my hands busy, I say this before," Rojer stated dismissively, "Normally I would do Alchemy but it is better to do when more awake, by the time I do this I am usually awake."

"Why always buildings?"

"They are the most big."

"Have you had lunch?"

"Your lunch is my break-fast," Rojer shrugged as he leaned back to give him his attention, waving his wand and vanishing the dice structure, "Do not stall, what did you want?"

"Me? I erm… Nothing," Scorpius stammered out awkwardly.

"Then buh-bye. Come back when this is class," Rojer told him with a dismissive wave, not looking convinced but Scorpius didn't think he cared and probably just wanted his weekend of peace. Scorpius left and found Maurice waiting at the bottom of the stairs, he felt an odd surge of anger.

"Look, Maurice, I _am_ going to tell him but in my own time not yours," Scorpius blurted out irritably, trying to keep his voice low so Rojer wouldn't hear and with Maurice's deafness volume was irrelevant, "It's not something you just blurt out, maybe soldiers do it that way but people don't. You're going to give me until the Christmas break and if I haven't told him by then, I'll walk you to the Alchemy Tower myself. Got it?"

"Got it," Maurice said quietly and reluctantly before turning and walking away, much to Scorpius' relief.

Thankfully, Maurice seemed content with this for whatever reason and Scorpius felt more at ease as the first full week of November began. He actually got a chance to talk to one of the Korays sooner rather than later as he spotted Pollux Koray struggling up the Grand Staircase when he was taking the weakened Michael to the Hospital Wing ready for the full moon, he was moving at a snail's pace and clutching the bannister. Scorpius felt quite bad for him, he was already breathing heavily. He silently cursed James for damaging his lungs.

"See that?" Scorpius wondered of his friend and Michael nodded weakly, he was leaning on him for support as they approached him, "Hey Pol."

"Hey… Scorpius and… Michael," Pollux greeted them in between breaths, Scorpius wasn't sure if it was because of his labored breathing or from struggling to remember their names.

"How are you doing?"

"Great, I love struggling to breathe… all the girls are really into it," Pollux offered sarcastically as the three of them moved up slowly, "Your friend okay?"

"Just weak from the full moon," Michael pointed out tiredly, "Wolfsbane tastes worse every month."

"Least Wolfsbane works, stuff that's supposed to help me breathe… Well, it tastes like swallowing rusted nails and you can see how brill… brilliantly it works."

"We actually wanted to ask you something," Scorpius spoke up and Pollux shrugged.

"Shoot. I'm not going anywhere quickly."

"Do you think your Father would give you or Auriga the password to other common rooms if you asked?"

"Yep," Pollux agreed without hesitation, "He's done it before when I wanted… to talk to Byron. I'm not telling you though if that's… what you're driving at."

"It's not."

"Told you," Michael pointed out triumphantly, trying to smile but it was weak. He also apparently didn't think to not say anything in front of the Ravenclaw, although the attempts on his Lysander's lives were common knowledge, "It could still be Martha trying to kill you."

"Martha is not trying to kill him," Pollux scoffed as if it was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard.

"What makes you so sure?"

"Haven't you… noticed she watches most of your Quidditch… practices?"

"That's why he thinks she's so suspicious," Scorpius admitted and Pollux shook his head.

"Wrong."

"Why does she go to the practices then?" Michael wondered and Pollux actually stopped to glance at them for a minute, looking torn, "What is it?"

"Promise you won't say anything?" Pollux pleaded with a heavy sigh, "I said… I said I wouldn't but if it's the only way you'll stop thinking she's a murderer…"

"We won't say anything," Scorpius assured him seriously and Pollux nodded slowly, looking around as if to make sure they were alone for a second before continuing.

"She has a major crush on you."

"Me?" Scorpius questioned in shock and Pollux nodded in confirmation, "Why would she have a crush on me?"

"I don't know, I'm not a girl," Pollux shrugged as he started climbing again, while Scorpius was still left feeling stumped, "See you, I have to keep… moving if I want to get to bed before the… dawn."

"Thanks," Scorpius added absentmindedly, turning to Michael, "See? I told you, just a poor girl with a weird crush."

"She could be lying about it," Michael protested as they also started walking again, "Maybe that's why she switched to trying to kill Lysander."

"Why lie about something embarrassingly personal like that?"

"Because people wouldn't think she would lie about it," Michael insisted and Scorpius rolled his eyes incredulously, "I'm sorry. I just have a bad feeling about her, okay?"

Scorpius left Michael in the Hospital Wing, feeling even more certain that Martha wasn't the one trying to kill them. And also somewhat awkward knowing an eleven year old had a crush on him, hopefully it would wear off. He went back to vigorously practicing his animagi training, desperately – and maybe delusionally – hoping to master it before Michael's transformation. No luck though. He was exhausted from pushing himself so hard practicing for the full moon so decided to call it a night earlier than usual although still later than the rest of his dormitory, when he felt the spell to keep his mind intact starting to fade he packed it in. First, he just had his obligation to check on Lysander. So far, he'd noticed nothing but this time he saw the boy creeping out of his room.

"Where are you going?" Scorpius hissed at him and Lysander jolted in surprise before relaxing when he saw him, putting a hand to his heart.

"Oh it's just you, just the person I wanted to see in fact," Lysander offered before grinning and waving a piece of paper at him, "Guess what?"

"More like, what are you doing out of bed? And don't say the bathroom because you get to them from your dormitory not this way."

"I got a secret admirer," Lysander explained and waved the paper more vigorously, "She wants me to meet her tonight and obviously not here. It's so exciting, my first lover's tryst."

"Lysander, someone is trying to _kill_ you," Scorpius pointed out in disbelief.

"All the more reason to live and love as much as possible."

"No, Lysander, can't you see this could be a trap?!" Scorpius insisted and Lysander looked at him quite blankly, apparently not having considered this, "They pretend to be an admirer to lure you away in the middle of the night so they can kill you."

"Oh no, I hadn't thought of that," Lysander admitted as his face fell, "Do you think my secret admirer knows?"

"I think there is no secret admirer!" Scorpius snapped and held out his hand, "Give me the note and go to bed, I'll check it out."

"No!" Lysander whined and yanked the note further away from him, "What if you're wrong and there _is_ a secret admirer? I can't just leave her hanging. I have to risk it."

"Are you mad?!"

"No, not mad. Excited and now kind of fearful but still willing to risk it," Lysander said and Scorpius almost slapped his hand to his face in frustration, Lysander had thought he meant angry-mad not insane-mad like any normal person would, "Besides, with my fairy guardian my side I'm feeling quite safe… You could always come with me if you want, if it's a trap then I'm the bait and you'll get them and if it's not then you can just leave us be."

"I'd rather just go alone," Scorpius moaned, feeling as if this was the dumbest thing he'd ever heard.

"Well it's my secret admirer and my call, I want to do this my way and there's no time," Lysander insisted, "So what do you say?"

"Fine," Scorpius agreed through gritted teeth and Lysander grinned.

"Great then let's go before we're late!"

On that note, Lysander skipped – quite literally – off and Scorpius trudged after him. He actually hoped they would get caught just because it meant a definite end would be put to Lysander being at risk tonight, a stupid risk at that. They didn't run into anyone though unfortunately, just dark corridors and silent night. He was surprised to see the meeting room was an unused one quite close to the Hospital Wing, wasn't this person – admirer or assassin – concerned about Marigold and Michael hearing? It was the full moon, Marigold stayed up at least a little bit to stay with Michael. They went in to wait and a person stepped out from the shadows, Scorpius had his wand aimed in a second but froze in surprise. It was neither assassin nor admirer but rather a familiar teenage boy with bushy red hair, Hugo Weasley held up his hands as if to show he was innocent and not putting up a fight.

"Hugo? You're my secret admirer?" Lysander wondered, looking incredibly disappointed, "I'm sorry, I don't swing that way."

"What are you talking about?" Hugo asked in confusion, "Lorcan's the one with a secret admirer."

"Explain," Scorpius insisted, as confused as the younger boys.

"Lorcan got a letter from a secret admirer, he's not interested in daring right now but I thought it might hurt her feelings if he didn't show so he said I could go instead to let her down so here I am. What are you two doing here?"

"Lysander also got a letter from a secret admirer, he wanted to meet her but I thought it might be a trap so I came with him," Scorpius explained as he lowered his wand, "This is looking more like a trap."

"Or just someone screwing with us," Hugo offered as he looked around, "There's no assassin here either."

"Well, _this_ is rather disappointing," Lysander admitted before the three froze at the sound of footsteps.

Scorpius aimed his wand at the door before relaxing as he recognized the odd pacing off the steps, limping. A second later, he was proved correct as Rojer walked by with an empty plate in his hands, presumably carrying it back down to be washed since he ate separate. He paused to glance in at them, his expression not surprised or angered in the slightest.

"Does not Hogwarts have some kind of curfew?" Rojer wondered curiously.

"Err… Yeah," Scorpius admitted and Rojer nodded.

"I thought as much. If you do not wish to be caught, I suggest you speak quieter," Rojer commented disinterestedly and continued on without another word, his limping footsteps fading into the night before any of them spoke.

"What a strange but pleasant man," Lysander decided to himself before they froze again at another sound.

This time it wasn't because of Rojer's footsteps, or any footsteps. It was because there was a blood-curdling scream, a man's scream that sounded suspiciously like Marigold… Scorpius felt his heart start to pound, had something happened to Michael? Distantly, he realized he could hear sounds of a struggle, furniture smashing and glass being shattered. He was distracted by a deafening howl of a werewolf just as he started to move, it wasn't coming from the Hospital Wing but the room they were in.

They looked around in shock, wands being drawn and lit up immediately but there was no werewolf around causing the incessant howling. Hugo started pulling out drawers of abandoned desks shoved in the corner, finally pulling one out that only increased the volume. There was a box in it, Hugo threw it to the ground and stomped on it. The box shattered and the howling ceased immediately but Scorpius still suspected it was too late, something was very wrong here and there were better off away.

"We need to get out of here now," Scorpius told them and the other two nodded in unanimous agreement before starting to run for the door.

They slammed to a halt though as a hulking shape appeared in the doorway, a massive brownish-blond wolf that growled ferociously as it made its way in. The silver moonlight from the window sliding over it as it walked in, revealing it had one golden eye and one hazel along with the shiny crimson on the massive claws and matted into the fur. It was Michael. Except from the menacing growl, Scorpius didn't think it was Michael anymore and things start clicking into place. The assassin must've sabotaged Michael's Wolfsbane and set a trap to lure the Scamanders to their deaths, letting Michael kill them for him. He felt sickened and angry, how_ dare_ someone try to use his friend that way?! There was also a pang of fear, what the hell was he supposed to do against his friend the werewolf?

"Hey Michael!" Lysander called cheerfully, apparently not recognizing the danger, "It's so cool to see you in were-"

Michael lunged at Lysander, Scorpius threw himself at the younger boy to tackle him out of the way and narrowly made it, he was still close enough to see the shadow of Michael jumping over him. He yanked Lysander to his feet and pushed the shaking boy towards the door while Michael skidded to a halt in front of the wall.

"Go! Get help!" Scorpius yelled at him.

Lysander didn't need telling twice, he fled. And Michael launched after him, Scorpius conjured ropes to bind him and his friend yelped as the four furred legs were caught up in the rope. He skidded as he fell, sliding into the corner near the door.

"Let's go!" Scorpius snapped at Hugo, "While he's bound!"

"We can seal him in!" Hugo added excitedly while Michael tore at the ropes.

Michael gave a ferocious snarl and lunged, snapping the ropes and Scorpius recast the spell to tie them again which had him drop over Hugo and land at Scorpius' feet with a painful thud. Scorpius raised his wand to try transfiguring the rope to something more substantial but Michael batted at him with a paw already free, his wand shot from his grasp as Scorpius was thrown back violently. He hit the ground painfully and saw Michael was already growling as he got to his feet, his eyes skimmed desperately and he saw his wand had slid uselessly over to the other side of the room. Michael jumped at him.

"_Expulso!"_ Hugo screamed, apparently not keen on leaving Scorpius as he jabbed his wand at Michael with a panicked apologetic expression.

The spell missed, hitting the wall behind Scorpius instead. It blew a crater into the wall, the shockwave from the blast and the debris shooting out was still enough to waver Michael's course and knock him away from Scorpius. It was also enough to incur Michael's wrath, the werewolf snarled viciously and ran immediately at Hugo in a blur of bloody fur.

"_Expul_-"

"_NO!"_ Scorpius cried.

Hugo didn't even manage to finish the spell before Michael reached him, Scorpius was too far from his wand or Hugo to do anything other than watch as his thundered in panic. Michael's powerful jaws clamped down on Hugo's forearm, there was a sickening snap as the limb twisted and Hugo screamed in agony. Michael tossed the boy and Hugo was thrown like a rag doll through a side door, his wand still in hand though.

"Sever your arm!" Scorpius screamed at him as he scrambled to his feet to try reach his wand while his voice had Michael spin back to him, growling as Hugo's blood dripping off his teeth. He felt immense pity and guilt twist inside him at Hugo's choice of becoming an amputee or a werewolf, he couldn't help, "Sever your arm, Hugo, or you'll turn into a werewolf!"

Scorpius tried to run for his wand but Michael was faster, in the next instant he felt the weight of a werewolf landing on him and felt at least some of his ribs crack painfully. He gasped in pain and screamed as Michael's claws tore through his chest, he looked into his friend's mismatched eyes and Michael didn't look back.

For the first time in his life, Scorpius felt true fear for his own life because of his best friend. There was only thing in the world he could possibly do to save himself now, the spells were weak but still intact after all. It was now or never. He willed himself to change, to become an animagus.

A shimmering gray aura embraced Michael, Scorpius raised his arm to try protect himself as the wolfish jaws bit at him. He saw his own arm changing, thinning and lengthening as it contorted while Michael's teeth tore painfully into his elbow while the hand was compressed into a hoof. He tried to cry out in pain but a shrill and strange shriek came out from his enlarging throat instead, he could feel his body changing.

He felt as if he was being yanked and torn every which way internally, Michael backed off in surprise and he fell forwards onto the hooves that had once been his hands. His body was growing and compressing at the same time, his flesh being squished to a skeletal form but his body growing to larger than his human one. He felt a tail sprout, his hair grow into a long mane and as if the skin of his back was being ripped off again, stretching out and forming into large leathery wings. A minute later, a Thestral stood where a human had been.

Scorpius knew he had to have transformed completely or else the bite would've turned him into a werewolf instead. He could feel the stinging painfully, his arm- _leg_ now was shaking from his putting pressure on the injured limb. He had done it though, he _was_ an animagus. Michael growled at him and jumped at him once more, Scorpius tried to cry out – again emitting a shrill shriek instead – as he reared up instinctively and kicked back down on Michael with his front legs. Michael yelped and retreated back, blinking his eyes as if disoriented from being kicked in the head but still snarling.

He noticed a second aura behind Michael as he did so, coming from Rojer who he spotted standing in the doorway. He threw a vial at Michael and jabbed his wand as well, there was a blue explosion of light and then Michael was on the ground with a thick bluish translucent substance covering his limbs and the ground. He was struggling but whatever the stuff was, it was holding him strong. Scorpius stared down at him in sad shock as Rojer strode towards him, this was not how he'd intended on his first animagi transformation to go.

"You can turn back now," Rojer told him, rubbing his injured leg idly as if it pained him while Michael started barking, "It is done."

It occurred to Scorpius as he said this that he didn't know how to turn back, hadn't Wyatt said you usually snapped back after turning the first time? He… He didn't remember, it was hard to remember. Another thought sent a shiver down his soul, how long did he have before the spell to keep his human mind wore off?

"Scorpius?"

Scorpius stepped back painfully with his injured limb, trying to will himself to turn back but he could already feel his mind failing him, feel it all merging into mush as his heart started pounding in panic.

He blinked in surprise as his panic spread, he was injured, there was a werewolf barking on the ground and he was in a strange room. There was a human there, its lips were moving but the words were incomprehensible. He should really be getting out of there, he took another step back and the human raised a thin stick he knew to be a weapon.

A jet of light shot out but he lurched out of the way, he kicked wildly and thought he heard the human cry out but he ignored it as he jumped clean out of the window. It shattered loudly and he felt a few shards of glass slice him on the way out but it was nothing compared to escaping whatever kind of imprisonment he'd found himself in, he soared through the sky much to his delight as he enjoyed flying with the wind through his mane. He glided to the ground and galloped as fast as he could with his injured leg into the forest, his home.


	21. VI: A Rude Awakening

_**Thanks to:** percyjackson42, Jizzle04, Lucifersdaughter, Cool, lunabelle and Colin Creevey for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_So if a werewolf bites an animagus in their animal form they will not turn? What if they bite them in human form, or in human form and then the transform?_**  
><em>In Gray, if an animagus is bitten in animal form they won't turn so not only are they not usually targets of a werewolf but would be unchanged if they did get bitten so safer to be around them. If they bite them in human form and they transform then it would counter the curse like it did for Scorpius, if they stayed human then they'd be turned and lose their animagi ability because it would be overridden by the lycanthrophy<em>

**_Did Hugo sever his arm? Or is he a Werewolf now?_**  
><em>Answer is in this chapter<em>

* * *

><p>He galloped through the dense woodland as fast as he could with his injured leg, his chest also hurt from his fight with the werewolf. He came to a halt only when he needed to catch his breath, the pain in his leg also continued to overwhelm him. He didn't even know where he was going, he shouldn't be running blindly. He should find water first and foremost, some others of his own kind would also be nice since he didn't recall who he was or how he'd gotten inside a castle in the first place.<p>

'_Hello?_' he called out into the forest, the shrill shriek scaring off a flock of birds, '_Is there anyone out there?'_

No reply.

He shook himself off and sniffed the air, taking in the aroma of the forest to get a sense of his surroundings and pinpoint the location of the nearest body of water. He started off towards that, this time at a trot and an unfortunate limp due to his injured leg. He thought of flying but decided against it, he wanted the cover of the trees not to risk the werewolf seeing him again. Maybe at full-strength he'd do it but with his injuries, it wasn't smart to pick fights.

He found the stream easily and lowered his head to drink, lapping up the refreshing liquid and soothing his thirst. Now that he thought about it, he could also use a bite to eat. He heard a tweeting and turned his attention to the various birds that inhabited the trees, he simply waited for one to fly by and took off. He shot up, his injured leg not hindering his flight and he seized the small bird in his fangs before landing.

He felt it struggling against the teeth digging into its small, feathered body and bit down hard. There was a crunch as its little bones snapped and the thing went limp, dead. He lifted his head, ensuring gravity was on his side as he threw it slightly to get it more in his mouth before devouring the creature. It may have been small but it did have a little fat belly so he got some meat from it, not a lot but he had only wanted a snack anyway.

He'd need something more sizable for a proper meal, this could be an issue with his leg. Although once the full moon passed, he wouldn't have to worry about the werewolf so could have the advantage of flight again. Maybe it would work out after all. He took another drink from the stream to wash the bird down and caught sight of his dragon-like face, his eyes were a glittering gray rather than white which was quite odd. Was that why he'd been in the castle? Had he been expelled from his flock because his eyes were the wrong color? He wasn't sure and he had no way of knowing, he pushed it out of his mind for now though. Instead, he wandered over to a nearby tree because he figured he could use some rest.

He lay down and cringed at the pain in his leg as he did so, bending it was really quite agonizing and he struggled to get comfortable with it amongst the thick tree roots for a minute. Finally he closed his eyes and settled in to sleep, having a strange dream about humans of all things. He snapped awake abruptly at the sound of a breaking twig, his dream vanishing but it was something to do with humans and he was pretty sure they'd called him 'scorpion' in it. He wasn't a scorpion and neither were humans so really, it was rather odd.

'_Greetings,_' a newcomer and he focused solely on reality as another Thestral emerged from the trees.

'_Hello_,' he greeted the new Thestral excitedly and jumped up, immediately regretting it as the shockwaves of pain that rippled form his injured leg were unbearable.

'_You are injured_,' the Thestral stated, tilting its head to one side and peering at the wounds curiously.

'_Got into a fight with a werewolf_,' he explained, '_It was attacking me for some reason, it's the first thing I remember_.'

'_But you are young, how can that be your first memory?_'

'_I don't know_,' he admitted uncertainly, 'I was just there in the castle being attacked by a werewolf then by a human, I fled here.'

'_Hmm… Maybe you are a new addition the humans acquired but were attacked by a werewolf_,' the Thestral mused thoughtfully, '_Occasionally they like to add new blood to our herd.'_

_'You serve humans?_' he wondered suspiciously, not sure how he felt about that.

'_It is more of a symbiotic relationship, we help each other. Humans can do things we can't, they could take care of your leg,' _the Thestral explained and nodded his head at the injuries_, 'And we can do things they can't, its beneficial for us both to work together.'_

'_I suppose_,' he admitted and kicked at the ground with his unharmed leg, '_Is there any chance I can join your flock?'_

_'There is a chance of everything. I came to investigate your call after all_,' the Thestral pointed out as he approached him, he lowered his head submissively and the Thestral circled around him, sizing him up and sniffing before standing before him once more, '_Alright. I will take you to the rest of the herd in our paddock_.'

'_Thank you_,' he said with relief and the Thestral started off.

'_Tenebrus. That is what they call me.'_

'_I don't know what they call me_,' he admitted uncertainly.

He followed Tenebrus through the forest, being filled in about the forest and its various inhabitants as well as their territories. There was an impressive variety, he would've liked to hunt but Tenebrus informed him that the humans kept them well fed so they didn't really have to. In fact, some they were specifically told to stay away from. Especially owls, thankfully the bird he had killed earlier had not been an owl.

They reached the paddock, a blissfully dark and especially dense part of the forest that made it difficult to tell the time of day due to a lack of sunlight. It was good though, the glaring sun only ever got in the way. Tenebrus introduced him to the rest of the herd, quite a sizeable bunch with some attractive females.

He was sized up similarly by the herd, he bowed his head and let them encircle him, sniffing him as well. It was actually kind of uncomfortable, for some reason he got the impression he didn't like strangers being so close to his personal space. He still stood politely, he didn't want to be out there on his own. At the very least he needed the safety of numbers while he was injured.

'_It's a bit odd_,' one of the older looking Thestrals commented, cocking its head to one side, '_Why bring a Thestral into the castle? None of us have ever been brought into the castle. Why would Hagrid do this?_'

'_Maybe he didn't, maybe our newcomer here just bolted_,' one of the female Thestrals said as she surveyed him, '_He seems a bit wild_.'

'_I hunted and killed a bird earlier,_' he announced proudly and tossed his head back to try show off his mane to impress her, '_Despite my injuries_.'

'_A bird? I hope you didn't hurt yourself, you've got to be wary of those birds_,' she said with a snort of amusement and he hung his head ashamedly.

'_It better not have been an owl_,' another Thestral growled, a rather large one who stamped the ground disapprovingly, '_Hagrid will not be pleased. There's no place for disrespectful youths in our flock.'_

_'It wasn't an owl_,' he insisted truthfully, not that he thought he should be held accountable if it was because he hadn't known about it at the time.

'_There's something off about him anyway.'_

_'His eyes are gray not white_,' Tenebrus pointed out, '_I don't think there's anything wrong with that though, visual appearance is not everything.'_

_'I like the eyes_,' the female commented.

'_I don't_,' the big one snapped and snarled to show off his fangs, '_His blood smells a bit funny too, something is off about him_.'

'_Could just be because he's new though_,' the older Thestral spoke up again, '_No reason to not accept him. I say he's fine, if he proves unworthy then we can always revoke our acceptance later._'

'_I agree_,' Tenebrus announced and there was a general murmuring of agreement from the rest of the herd, Tenebrus gave him a respectful bow and he felt a surge of relief, '_Welcome to the group_.'

* * *

><p>"Harry! Wake up!"<p>

Harry Potter jolted awake at the sound of his name, he'd fallen asleep at his desk it seemed and it was strange to wake into a sitting position. He blinked his bleary eyes and had to fix his glasses, he'd drifted off wearing them so they'd gone askew. Only then did he saw the cause for his rude awakening, he'd expected Ron for someone reason but he was surprised to find it was the Minister. Alaric Layton was looking as if he'd received a rude awakening of his own, he appeared exhausted but also oddly animated.

"Wake _up_," Alaric reiterated impatiently, "I need you to do something for me."

"What?" Harry wondered tiredly and annoyed himself, at Alaric though not the awakening because work was more important than sleeping.

"Have you heard about Michael Sanford attacking some of the students?"

"Of course I heard about it, my nephew was the victim!" Harry insisted incredulously, Alaric looked mildly surprised by this which only frustrated further. Did Alaric not bother to learn anything about a subject before bringing it up?

"Right, of course," Alaric nodded and idly rubbed his hands together, seemingly trying to decide whether it was impolite to jump back to his original point immediately, "How is he?"

"His Mother's with him," Harry admitted, he hoped Hugo was doing alright.

"Good. So did you see the article the _Prophet_ wants to print on it as their cover story?" Alaric dived back to his original point briskly and Harry sighed. Suddenly, he was also pretty sure Alaric had no family to be so unsympathetic.

"No."

"Well, let's say it does not shed a very favorable light on werewolves to say the least," Alaric explained and slipped into the chair opposite Harry, a flicker of relief crossing his face as if he'd been waiting to sit before launching back into his point, "And I'd really rather _not_ have that. There's two ways to look at this, there's the truth that some utterly despicable person tampered with a poor boy's treatment to use him as a weapon to deliberately hurt or kill others - which _is _utterly despicable, I mean what kind of sick, twisted, inhuman freak does that?! It's outrageous and then they have the _nerve_ to turn around and call the werewolf the monster, _they _were the ones taking measures to manage their natures and someone sabotages _that_?! It's worse than despicable, it is downright atrocious, it's the most contemptible, heinous act-"

Alaric paused abruptly, seeming to realize he had veered slightly off point into a surprisingly passionate rant. Maybe he hadn't just been lying to Scorpius when he'd mentioned being pro-werewolf, Harry wondered if they'd had any luck finding the missing boy because he'd just kind of vanished. Alaric cleared his throat.

"My point is, it will either be spun as werewolves being inherently evil, vicious monsters and reignite that whole conflict which is the last thing we need when we're already in a war _or_ it will be spun as werewolves just as much a victim since Sanford's Wolfsbane was tampered with which is the truth," Alaric explained, "There'll be a negative backlash against werewolves either way but the latter will diminish it."

"I agree," Harry admitted with a nod of acknowledgement, he was worried it would spark life back into PAW and he'd have to split his resources between them and the Shadows again, "But I don't see why you're telling me, _you_ are the Minister so if you want the _Prophet_ to spin it more positively then just order them too."

"I can't," Alaric stated seriously, "If they know I'm being supportive of werewolves then I'll lose my non-werewolf supporters. Politics, Harry, the ultimate strategy game."

"Well even if I go down there myself I'd need to tell them it's on your authority so they'd know anyway."

"I know," Alaric pointed out and looked around as if to make sure they were truly alone before lowering his voice and continuing, "But that wouldn't matter if you blackmailed Rita Skeeter the way you did as a teenager, whatever you have on her must've been good. Use it again, make her change her article."

"You're asking me to blackmail her?" Harry wondered in shock as Alaric stood, giving him a wolfish smile.

"No," Alaric said quietly, "I'm _telling_ you to."

"If I do this, will you let Flan talk to Riddle?" Harry called after him as Alaric went to leave, the Minister paused and sighed.

"Harry, if he sees Riddle then the guarding Aurors will see him," Alaric insisted unfairly yet again, "The less people know the better."

"They don't know the location though."

"But they will know the person to direct the Soul Eaters too and like you say, he's a civilian and he'll crumble if they torture him."

"But he might be able to get some information out of him, we've still had no luck interrogating him."

"I'll think about it when you do what I want," Alaric offered non-committedly as he left, passing by Ron on his way in. His friend was looking just as bad as Alaric, they both watched the Minister leave darkly.

"Nice to see when I leave for a few hours you have time to hang out with your new best buddy," Ron quipped irritably as he came in and slumped into the seat Alaric had been sitting in, Harry sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes.

Ever since Alaric was making him not tell Ron and Cel the location Riddle was being kept and that Flannery Leebin was the only other one who knew it aside from Harry himself, the pair had been rather cross with him to say the least. They accused him of not trusting them and favoring Alaric, they shared similar opinions of the Minister to Harry. Ron stared off unhappily, he was looking very gaunt and his hair more gray then red now.

"He's not my buddy, he just wanted something," Harry pointed out truthfully.

"Oh so you were doing a favor for your buddy," Ron complained irritably which made Harry scowl.

"Ron, you-"

"I'm sorry," Ron apologized half-heartedly, sinking back into his seat and looking depressed, "You can be buddies with Layton all you want, I don't care. My son's a werewolf."

"How is Hugo doing?" Harry wondered with genuine concern.

"Still sleeping it off, he has some wounds where he attacked himself but nothing too major except his arm's also kind of mangled from the bite. He should've given it the chop when he had the chance."

"Is it really that bad? Will he still be able to use it?"

"Sure when its healed but it's still better to lose an arm then become a werewolf," Ron pointed out as if it were obvious, "Better that and a good prosthetic then agonizing painful transformation and illness every month, the risk of running amuck as a psycho animal and oh yeah, all the prejudice of the Wizarding World. There's still attacks on werewolves, they get harassed and all. You know Flan has gotten death threats for his _baby_? Being told he should put that 'unnatural lupine abomination' out of its misery or they would. I never wanted that for Hugo, what was the kid thinking?"

"I don't know," Harry shook his head, "Any other news?"

"Scorpius Malfoy is still missing, last Lysander and Hugo saw he was in with Michael. Michael was in too much of a state to get any information out of, best we got is that he went out of the smashed window then they had to give him something to help him sleep. I wanted to be angry at him but the kid's a wreck, what kind of sick person sabotages a werewolf's Wolfsbane?" Ron demanded but refrained from a tangent like Alaric, "Someone's trying to kill Luna's kids and I reckon the Aurors aren't able to stop them because they're already inside. Oh and Marigold should be okay, Michael mauled him pretty badly and his arm is broken in several places but he managed to make sure he wasn't bitten and he should pull through. After Michael ran off, he treated his wounds to some degree before succumbing to the pain and blacking out so the damage isn't as bad as it could've been."

"Good to know," Harry nodded as Cel Rooke walked in, his handsome sandy-haired protégé, "I think I'll see him after I'm done doing something for Alaric."

"Sure, by all means do a favor for your new best buddy," Cel quipped immediately, folding his arms testily, "The guy who orders you to do things then ditches you not the friends you've known for years."

"Thirty years and counting," Ron pointed out as Harry stood to leave, looking quite introspective, "Blimey, Harry, did you ever think we'd make it this far?"

"And yet, he doesn't trust you."

"I trust you!" Harry insisted in frustration, "Alaric is the one who doesn't. Besides it's not even really necessary, he's just keeping the loop very small."

"And us out of it," Ron added.

"I'll see you later."

"Where are you even going?" Cel wondered as Harry headed for the door.

"To blackmail a beetle," Harry admitted, Alaric hadn't told him to keep that to himself, "Alaric wants an article less biased against werewolves."

"Then you may want to know what I actually came to tell you, the Potions professor managed to confirm Sanford's Wolfsbane was indeed messed with. There were traces of other ingredients in the vial it was in, it was sabotaged and by someone in Hogwarts too."

"The Shadows?" Ron guessed with a surge of anger, "Did the Shadows do this to my boy?!"

"It could be," Cel said slowly, "But I have no idea what they'd stand to gain from killing the Scamanders, we could be looking at a third party."

"Well, we'll talk about it later," Harry promised truthfully.

"Yes, because unlike your new best buddy we didn't go home and abandon you!" Ron or Cel called after him as he left. Harry hated this.

* * *

><p>He felt much more at ease with the herd, there was safety in numbers and it was a nicer part of the forest, most of the Thestrals seemed quite accepting of him anyway. They journeyed to a nearer stream for another drink of water before returning to settle down to sleep, he found a comfortable nook by a tree root that he could rest his head on. Once he'd gone through the awkward process of trying to sit with his injured leg, his chest also pained him still but the legs were the ones taking the brunt of his weight.<p>

He again dreamed of humans and was again awoken by the sound of someone approaching, this time it wasn't Tenebrus but a human. The same human who'd tried to attack him from before, the other Thestrals didn't seem as concerned by him. He jumped up in panic though, screeching at pain he'd aggravated in his leg without thinking and nudged Tenebrus in panic.

'_What?_' Tenebrus wondered, flicking his tail in disapproval at the awakening.

'_That human is the one who tried to attack me from before!_' he screeched desperately, the other Thestral's eyes widened but it was too late.

The human had already fired a flash of light at him, this time he was stuck between a tree and a Thestral so unable to dodge it. He was thrown back and abruptly felt his body contorting and compressing, he screeched in pain and heard his fellow Thestrals shrieking in panic. He felt his wings and tail melding into his back, his hooves become strange fleshy limbs and his hair receding, he also felt like he was shrinking.

And then it was over, he was forced to be on his knees because his front and back legs were no longer the same length. He stared down at the strange pale five pronged stumps, he looked up at Tenebrus who backed away from him slightly and the other Thestrals all seemed to have stopped moving. He didn't understand what was happening to him, he tried to whimper and realized the anatomy of his head had also changed.

He didn't want to be changed, how was he supposed to live like this?! How could he fly without wings?! How as he expected to hunt with this wrongful body?! Why did he have cloths on him?! What kind of Thestral was he now?! He felt like a freak of nature, he just wanted to normal. He heard movement again and spun to face the human, he tried to scramble away but he was hit by another flash of light. He tumbled backwards and memories started soaking back into his mind, gushing in like floodgates had been opened.

"Is this you alright now, Scorpius?" Rojer questioned in his usual accented voice, looking as grim as ever.

Scorpius looked back to him in shock, he nodded but kept trembling fearfully. He couldn't believe how completely he'd lost his mind, lost all thoughts of his family and friends, the Shadows, the war… It had all been gone. He could've lived out his entire existence as a Thestral, completely abandoning them. The thought terrified him. It absolutely terrified him.

"Come on. Let us go," Rojer spoke again and Scorpius realized he'd limped over to him, he jerked his head in a random direction. Scorpius had no idea where they were but he very much didn't want to be there, the Alchemist rolled his eyes and reluctantly offered him his scarred hand to help him up, "We have need to get back."

"Okay," Scorpius muttered finally and took Rojer's hand to get up off the dirt shakily, he cradled his injured arm to his chest and watched the surprised Thestrals, "Let's go home."


	22. VI: Talking in the Trees

_**Thanks to:** Colin Creevey and percyjackson42 for reviewing!_

**_So... is it serious that Scorpius lost his mid as a Thestral? Can he not transform anymore? Or was the danger just ending up as a Thestral forever? _**  
><em>When you're learning to be an animagus, you need to use a spell to stop your mind being overwhelmed by animal instincts and Scorpius' wore off so he lost his mind. He can still transform, he just needs to keep doing the safety until he can do it without the aid of any spell<em>

**_I hope Cel is figured out soon. Is that going to happen soon? _**  
><em>Not until next book but a few will find out this one<em>

* * *

><p>Rojer headed off and Scorpius followed shakily, still unnerved from losing his mind as well as in pain from his elbow and chest, it hurt to breathe. He also started to feel very anxious, they were in the Forbidden Forest which was home to a number of dark and dangerous things while he was injured and didn't even have his wand. He felt naked without his wand. It didn't help they were moving quite slowly, Rojer seemed to know the way but he also had a severe limp dragging their speed down. It seemed worse than usual even, it also appeared to be paining him as he kept rubbing it with a cringe. Rojer didn't look the slightest bit perturbed however, looking so unfazed he could've been teaching another class. They walked in silence, Rojer not making any attempt at conversation before coming to a halt.<p>

"What?! What's wrong?! What's happening?!" Scorpius hissed in panic as quietly as possible while Rojer started plucking some random berries.

"I am hungry, I have been tracking you for this long time. I do not like to be hungry," Rojer stated casually as he popped them into his mouth, "Do not be jumpy."

"There's all kinds of things in the forest, I'm injured and I don't have my wand," Scorpius pointed out as Rojer munched on the berries, "My friend and I fought off a Bicorn once."

"Hmm," Rojer mused through a mouthful of berries before he started rifling through his robes, something else worrying occurred to him.

"Are you sure those berries are safe to eat?" Scorpius asked worriedly, "They could be poisonous."

"They are not. I do not know the name for them in English but I have had them many of times before, since I was a boy I eat these," Rojer shook his head and Scorpius felt a jolt of guilt at the mention of his childhood, Ashylos had died in a forest when Rojer was a child. Rojer seemed to find what he was looking for and held out a wand to him, Scorpius recognized it immediately as his own, "Here."

"My wand?" Scorpius wondered in surprise as he took it with his good arm.

"I picked this up before I went after you."

"What about Michael?"

"I sealed the werewolfs in so they could not get out and attack others in the school, this is the last I see of him," Rojer answered with a dismissive shrug as he started walking again, Scorpius following and keeping his wand held tight.

"That was brave of you," Scorpius offered and Rojer gave a derisive snort.

"It is not brave or difficult to seal the door."

"Facing off against a werewolf is though."

"Not if you have no fear. There is no courage if there is no fear to overcome, I do not fear werewolfs. I didn't care. This is not courage."

Scorpius decided to give up arguing with him because he didn't have the strength, the slow silence resumed and the ache ate away at his ribs. And his arm, the bite was burning painfully and he didn't think having walked on it had helped any. He knew he should feel pleased to have finally succeeded at transforming but he couldn't even think of Thestrals without feeling terrified of how he'd lost his mind, he was also worried about Michael. And Hugo, had the poor kid severed his arm or turned into a werewolf? And the assassin, someone was definitely out to get Lysander along with he and Lorcan, maybe even Michael. Damn, the pain.

"Do you know how much further or longer until we get out of here?" Scorpius asked finally to break it.

"No."

"Can we rest a minute then? The pain is pretty bad."

"Pain? You do not know the meaning of the word," Rojer scoffed but he stopped nonetheless while Scorpius felt a pang of guilt, his eyes glittering darkly as he glanced at him before making a bird-like caw sound that he'd heard Cassia do. He heard a twittering of birds overhead and felt sick as he remembered eating one, "There is a stream near to us, we can rest there. If you want, I can look at your wounds. I know how to heal and I have some elixirs with me."

"You always carry around healing elixirs with you?" Scorpius wondered as they started walking again, veering off into another direction.

"I do not have trust in healers or doctors so I always treat my own self. You do not know when something could happen that you might have need," Rojer shrugged, "You may one night just go to carry your empty plate down to wash in the kitchens and have to go stop a werewolf going crazy then run after a boy who turns into a Thestral without making sure his mind intact and flies into a large, dangerous forest. You never know."

"Fair point," Scorpius admitted with a weak smile although he wasn't sure if Rojer had meant to be humorous, he never seemed to notice when he said something amusing. He noticed Rojer rubbing his leg again, "Does your leg pain you?"

"Always. Especially a lot when you walk for a long time like now."

"You didn't have to, you know?" Scorpius pointed out guiltily although he supposed he should count himself lucky it was Rojer, others wouldn't be so apathetic to the fact he was an animagus, "You could've just told the Aurors or something and they'd have sent out a search party."

"I did not think of that," Rojer admitted thoughtfully before shaking his head, "No, I do not like this idea. If you want something done then you do it by yourself, you cannot have faith in strangers. Now speaking to_ them_ would have been brave."

"You're scared of Aurors but not werewolves?"

"Absolutely. Humankind are the worst of all creatures and Aurors have the training to fight, I do not like this," Rojer explained as they came through a thicket into a small clearing with a stream, Scorpius didn't think it was the same one he'd been at before. The alchemist glanced at it for a moment as if lost in memory and Scorpius felt another wave of guilt, he knew Rojer was thinking of Ashylos' death. Rojer had been playing in a stream in a forest right before it happened after all, it had to remind him. Scorpius regretted saying anything, "Here this is."

"It's alright, I'm feeling much better," Scorpius lied and Rojer slid his eyes to him disapproving.

"Come on," Rojer insisted and led them over, he jerked his wand lazily at two rocks by the side and enlarged to make them big enough to sit on. They both did, Rojer very slowly and seeming to be cautious with his leg as it seemed painful to bend it, "How is your chest hurt?"

"Some cuts from the claws and I'm pretty sure some of my ribs are broken," Scorpius reluctantly admitted.

Rojer looked bored as he waved his wand over Scorpius with a golden light. He flicked it again and Scorpius cried out in pain as he felt his ribs snapping for a second, then the pain was gone and he was breathing unhindered once more.

"Now they are not broken," Rojer commented while Scorpius could only feel surprise.

"It was that easy to heal my ribs?" Scorpius wondered and Rojer nodded as he conjured a cloth, he soaked it in the stream, "Why didn't you do that sooner?"

"Last time I tried to use healing on you , you hit me in the face. I do not like to be hit," Rojer complained as he withdrew another vial, sprinkling it over the dripping cloth, "I do not blame you, if it had been me then I would have hit me too and I would not have stopped the struggling."

"I am sorry about that, you know?" Scorpius apologized as Rojer handed him the cloth.

"I know, you tell me this before. You need to clean the wounds on your chest with that, they already look dirty and it is not good if they get infected. They are curse wounds and the curse wounds cannot be healed so easily nor can infections that arising from them."

"Like this?" Scorpius wondered worriedly as he awkwardly pressed the wet cloth on the wounds, cringing at the pain it caused to touch them and Rojer nodded.

"Can I look at your elbow?" Rojer queried and Scorpius inclined his head in agreement, "This is where there was the bite."

Scorpius raised his injured arm up to let the alchemist look at it, all the while continuing to try clean his chest with the cloth with his other hand. He cringed in pain as Rojer pulled up his sleeve to get a better look at the wound, despite him doing it as carefully as possible. Rojer waved his wand over it and Scorpius jolted in pain as he felt it snapping back properly into place, he hadn't realized it had been broken. It continued to ache though, the bite still stinging very painfully. Rojer took the cloth off him when he was done and washed it off again in the stream, getting rid of the dirt and dried blood before doing the same as before. This time, he started cleaning out the wounds on Scorpius' arm. It hurt even worse than the claw wounds and he had to grit his teeth through it.

"Does this still hurt?" Rojer questioned when he was finished cleaning the arm and Scorpius nodded, "Alright."

Rojer sighed as he took out his wand this time and started tracing invisible lines with it over the bite, Scorpius was oddly reminded of what he'd done when he'd been poisoned. Finally he searched in his robes for yet another vial, he poured the silvery contents over Scorpius' injured elbow. The liquid seemed thicker than water but thinner than syrup, it was shimmering and oddly seemed to move where Rojer had traced with his wand in the shape of some alchemical symbols. Scorpius gave a sharp intake of breathe as it started to melt into his flesh, it was freezing cold and he was definitely reminded of the poison cure now.

He didn't mind it so much though, it didn't start hurtling through his veins like last time and instead he saw traces oozing into the wounds on his arm. The cold became a very good thing as it seemed to numb the pain, soothing the burning and washing the ache away all together. He'd been so focused on that, he hadn't noticed Rojer getting bandages and was slightly surprised when the alchemist started wrapping it around his elbow to bandage the wound.

"That's the same stuff you used to get the poison out of me, isn't it?" Scorpius wondered curiously and Rojer nodded without pausing in his work.

"I told you this has other uses," Rojer pointed out as if it were blatantly obvious, "You just need to direct it correctly is all, it can be used to purge the body of foreign bad things like poison or decay from necrosis. This can also be used to numb pain due to the coldness of the temperature, it can latch onto pain receivers and stop the hurt. Is very good, will stop the pain for you and act as a plug against infection then purge any bad away."

"It's very effective."

"I know, this is why I use it for my leg at night so I can sleep. Or if the pain is particularly unbearable."

"Why not just use it all the time?"

"Because then it would kill me, the main is Mercury," Rojer told him as he finished bandaging it and Scorpius recalled from class that it was poisonous, "Constant use results in death, you have to pace the usage of it. Is this alright now or do you need your chest done as well?"

"No, I'm good. Thank you," Scorpius offered truthfully.

He was grateful for Rojer's help after all. He'd practically saved his life. Again. He felt a wave of guilt crashing painfully against him once more as he gazed into the stream, Rojer had saved his life _twice _and he'd murdered his father. He couldn't keep doing this, he had to tell him. He had to tell him now.

"Did you want five minutes more or can we on moving?" Rojer questioned obliviously and Scorpius wiped at the tears pricking his eyes.

"I killed your father," Scorpius blurted out, to which Rojer gave a snort of amusement.

"Scorpius, I don't know who you killed but my father died a long time before even your grandfather was born. Besides, I saw the man who murdered my father and he was not you."

"That's right. You watched your father die, right in front of you. You were only seven years old, in a forest, in Europe. He was telling you off about going outside when it wasn't safe," Scorpius told him and watched as any kind of prior amusement bled off Rojer's face, "Grindelwald's men hit him in the back with a Killing Curse. He didn't have a chance, didn't see it coming. Ashylos, his name was Ashylos and you were his last child."

"How d-"

"I know because Ashylos showed me, I knew him," Scorpius cut him off and launched into an explanation of meeting Ashylos' spirit, the Scepter, the Shadows… Once he started, he couldn't stop and he was crying by the time he was talking about sacrificing Ashylos to save Professor Ashain. All the while, Rojer listened in stoic silence, "… And I'm so sorry, Rojer, I'm sorry."

"Hmm… Well this I did not expect," Rojer admitted, looking at a loss for words while his eyes drifted and he seemed to soak in the news. Scorpius wiped his eyes miserably, Rojer sighed and glanced black to him, "I forgive you."

"You forgive me?" Scorpius wondered in absolute shock and Rojer nodded.

"My father died when I was a child and he didn't die because of you, he died because I was a insolent little brat who did not do as he was told. My choice cost him his life not yours," Rojer told him seriously, staring off into the stream guiltily, "He would have forgiven you, he would have wanted you to save Ashain. My father was a good man, the best. He lived for a long life, he did not wish to die but he accepted death and would rather the younger have a chance. In a way I think he is glad, Pancratius sacrificed his soul to stop Herpo and he often felt this should have been his fate too. He'd think it quite fitting in a way, I know he would. You should not feel bad, I understand."

"I still feel bad," Scorpius sniffed, "He was a good person, a hero… And I destroyed his soul."

"He was right, you know?" Rojer commented, finally meeting his eyes. The dark chestnut identical to Ashylos and flecked with unshed tears, "I know the magic you would have to do to repair his soul and it would take longer then you had even if you were an expert at this. You could not have saved them both, you are deluding yourself if you believe different to this. Life is not fair, bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad, choices are not easy. You could either destroy him or allow Ashain to perish, you would have feel bad either way. I understand and I forgive you, besides his soul would not have been there if not for me."

"You shouldn't blame yourself either," Scorpius pointed out, "Ashylos didn't hold it against you, he didn't blame you."

"I could say the same about you," Rojer insisted quite truthfully as he idly played with his hands, "I guess the both of us just killed him, it is not so easy to forgive yourself."

"I guess," Scorpius admitted with a sigh, feeling oddly relieved to just have gotten it out in the open and Rojer had taken it much better then he'd thought apart from blaming himself as well, "He was worried about you, you know? Ashylos. He didn't know what happened to you, he regretted not being able to find out. He thought you were most likely dead though, considering how he left you."

"Are you asking me how is it I survived?" Rojer questioned quite bluntly, tearing his eyes away from his hands and Scorpius gave a gesture somewhere between a nod and a shrug. He was kind of curious but he also respected if Rojer didn't want to say, "They did not try to kill me, instead they wished to capture me. Avara – my father's bird companion and closest friend – died trying to protect me, they caught me after she died. I think they wanted information, to know if there was others in the forest but I do not know. I could only speak bird and Ancient Greek, I still do not know what language they were using. At first they ask nicely but I did not understand so they got more violent, I was beaten and tortured but of course, I still did not know."

"Is that how your leg was crippled?" Scorpius wondered curiously but Rojer shook his head.

"Not yet. They kept me prisoner for a few weeks, I do not know exactly how long but eventually they gave up on getting anything useful out of me. Instead they took me to a place for… I do not know, safe keeping or something. They took me to a muggle place, a Nazi concentration camp. Do you know what this is?" Rojer continued and paused to query it but Scorpius shook his head, "While Grindelwald raised a magical war, the muggles also fought a massive war call the World War Two. The Nazi side gathered the people they did not like into camps, the majority were the Jewish but there was also Gypsies, homosexuals, prisoners of the war, criminals even sex criminals even those that hurt children… and erm… others, lots of people were there. I was branded mentally ill because they thought I could only speak gibberish, I found out later anyway because I did not know the language.

"They… They do not treat you well. You are starved and kept barely alive, forced to do work, the conditions were so bad people died all of the days from it and that's not even counting the people they killed. They killed so many people, extermination they call it. The guards were sadistic and cruel on top of all this, people _are_ monsters. When I first went there, I would beg for my life but by the time I left there, I would beg for my death. Death was the only way out of that nightmare, the only way. I deserved it though, this was the punishment for my father's life. I do not know if it is because of my father or magic in general but I was resilient, I kept surviving no matter how bad it was.

"German was their language that they spoke, I learned to speak it there. There was a man who was kind to me or at least he did pretend to be, he also helped me learn to read a bit in the language. I hate languages, it is awful to be trapped in a land of people that you cannot even communicate with, to not understand at all," Rojer stopped to shake his head and sigh before seeming to force himself to continue, "And this is where my leg was crippled, where I got this burns as well. On top of all of that, they did experiments. Medical experiments they call them, is just another way to torture. This is why I cannot trust anyone in this profession. They put me in freezing conditions to test survival or something, they burn me with mustard gas to test treatment and my leg…

"When I was just nine they did a experiment on my leg, they just cut pieces out of it. They didn't even give me anesthetic or anything for the pain, they just started hacking away like the butchers they were. It was agony and ever since then my leg is still broken, it hurts because the nerves are there damaged and it cannot move correctly because they cut out some of the muscles needed to move it right. It is sad, magic could have repaired this damage but by the time I was in magical hands it was too late. They did nothing for the pain or to help me walk, I had to deal with it or I would die. The pain is bad and never ending, even to sleep I would have to wait until I was exhausted and weak my body could not physically cope with consciousness because the pain was unbearable. I use to lie awake crying the pain was so bad or praying to the Gods for a mercy I did not deserve, I never got a reprieve."

"You got out eventually though?" Scorpius wondered while Rojer rubbed his leg and looked upset, he knew that had to be the case but nonetheless felt morbidly interested.

"Yes," Rojer nodded, still looking solemn, "The Nazis lost the war and the camp was liberated when I was twelve, I had five years in that place. I was so weak and starved I threw up the food the soldiers would try to give to me, I was completely broken. It was only after that I got mixed up in the magical world again, they thought I was Polish I think or that I would be best there so they come and give me a place in Bratuslaw. They did not believe me when I said I was the son of an Ancient Greek hero so I never told anyone again, they thought I was insane like the Nazis thought and had forgotten my true past. I was sent to stay with a family, a farmer and his wife who should of teach me Polish before the term started. They were not kind to me either, I had to work from dawn to dusk and was beaten every day and I was still not fed properly because things were rough and they did not wish to waste food on me. If I do well, I was beaten as incentive to do better and if I do bad then I was beaten as punishment for it. The work was torture on my leg, sometimes I would collapse because I literally could not stand it and he would beat me while I was down then leave me there. I'd have to drag myself back inside or just lie there outside in the cold until I could bear to move, even freedom is not free."

"I'm sorry," Scorpius offered genuinely and apologetically, Rojer gave a half shrug as he stood.

"I deserved it. Come on, we can share our pasts more some other time. You know how I lived and I know what became of my father's soul, we should get back and the birds warn a Bicorn is coming for a drink. The forest is not a good place for this."

Scorpius didn't need telling twice, feeling quite overwhelmed by all that happened and could use some time to digest it all. He thought Rojer did too because they walked back in a more introspective silence then before. Hogwarts was very much a sight for sore eyes, Scorpius didn't think he'd ever been so glad to see the castle as he was when he left the tree line and followed Rojer back inside. It was daylight, he hadn't noticed so much in the forest but it was day, he had no idea what time but it was day. Rojer led him back to the Hospital Wing and was just about to leave when Weedy Larry called to me.

"Young Master Malfoy! And… Alchemy person," the Headmaster greeted them, somewhat enthusiastically, "It is a relief to see you alright, Mr Malfoy."

"I wouldn't be if not for _Professor Voltur_," Scorpius decided to emphasize the name, quite offended Weedy Larry didn't seem to know it. He should treat his workers with respect and the headmaster redirected his focus to the alchemist.

"What in the devil happened?"

"Devil?" Rojer repeated in confusion.

"What happened!?" Weedy Larry demanded more forcefully and pronounced.

"There was a werewolf attacked the boy," Rojer told him, his accented being especially pronounced for some reason, "He went out the window into the forest so I sealed in the werewolf and went to get him back so I did this."

"You couldn't give me more details?"

"Details?" Rojer repeated in mock confusion, Scorpius was very much aware he knew the meaning of the word. He was just playing up his language barrier to avoid speaking to Weedy Larry.

"Oh go on with you," Weedy Larry snapped and waved his arm dismissively, "And buy a bloody English dictionary while you're at it!"

"Dic-tion-ary?"

"Just go!" Weedy Larry practically yelled and Rojer limped off immediately, Scorpius realized this was actually quite fortuitous as it meant it wasn't common knowledge he was an animagus since the headmaster didn't seem to know this already. He knew it was illegal to keep it a secret but… maybe it was best to keep a lid on it for now, it was also illegal to aid fugitives like Varanian after all, "And you, find a bed and I'll have the temporary Healer come look at you. On behalf of Hogwarts, I apologize for the inconvenience this caused you… And deduct thirty-five points from Gryffindor for your non-compliance with the curfew."

On that note, Weedy Larry stalked off - good riddance in Scorpius' opinion - and Scorpius was left on his own in the Hospital Wing. Not quite alone anyway, he saw Marigold in a bed near his office. He was very much asleep, he had a stitched wound running down his face, a nose that looked broken or incorrectly set and a bandaged arm in a sling. He also saw Hugo sleeping soundly a few beds down, he immediately spotted the Hufflepuff had both arms.

"You chose to be a werewolf," Scorpius said more to himself then anyone but the boy stirred slightly anyway, he shrugged as much as possible as his eyes struggled to stay open.

"I didn't want to lose my wand arm, takes months before it heals enough for a prosthetic. Full moon is once a month but amputation is for life," Hugo explained and sighed weakly, "At least it seemed like the best choice in the minute I had to decide."

"Fair enough, at least you're alive," Scorpius offered and Hugo nodded as his eyes flickered shut.

"Glad you're alive too. Michael's down the far end by the window if you want to see him."

"Thanks, get some rest."

Hugo tried to nod but fell asleep half way through, Scorpius did feel bad for the poor boy. He continued on up the room, he didn't see Michael but there was a bed cordoned off. Scorpius rounded it and saw his friend lying on his side facing the window, his shoulders were shaking as he silently sobbed. Scorpius moved in front of him so Michael could see his face, he tried to speak but he was crying too hard and Scorpius really didn't know what to say. He had somehow suspected Michael would take this badly. He approached his friend and sat down on the bed, he gently eased Michael up before pulling him into a tight hug and letting his friend cry uncontrollably into his shoulder.


	23. VI: Prejudice

_**Thanks to:** Lucifersdaughter, Colin Creevey and Cal for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_Is he (Rojer) going to be a main charcator in the seriesor just in the book?_**  
><em>The series, his role will extent beyond this book<em>

**_Is Martha really powerful enough to have Lysander sink into his bed? _**  
><em>Yes, she has been through the same training as Maurice so knows a bit more then the usual first year<em>

**_Would Rojer be mad?_**  
><em>No<em>

**_How will the Thestrals feel about one of their number turning into a human?_**  
><em>They were all surprised. Most see him as some kind of special Thestral-human, a few feel more like he's a treacherous trickster<em>

**_If someone's wand arm is prosthetic, can they still use magic?_**  
><em>Yes. Like Neville lost his arm in book II, he has a prosthetic now and can still do magic<em>

* * *

><p>Following the full moon, Scorpius soon quickly realized Hogwarts and the Wizarding World in general was all riled up. Scorpius was pleased to see that the <em>Prophet <em>article about it was surprisingly pro-werewolf, placing the blame on whoever had sabotaged the Wolfsbane and he thought things would've been worse if they had crucified Michael – which they very well could've – but it still couldn't erase all the damage. The wounds of the werewolf issue had been reopened and several werewolves had actually been attacked as 'retribution' for the attack, thankfully no deaths though. Still, it wasn't good and Scorpius knew this was only going to make Michael feel even worse.

Michael had cried himself to sleep on Scorpius' shoulder, his body succumbing to the toll the full moon took. He slept through the rest of the day and night, when Scorpius left the Hospital Wing he was still sleeping. Scorpius was kept the rest of the day – missing his classes, he also had to hide the fact his arm had been bitten to avoid letting the other guy know he was an animagus – and overnight for observation but was allowed out the next day, unfortunately Marigold's replacement didn't let him go before the Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw Quidditch match though so he missed Orous' first match as Captain.

Hufflepuff lost 90 to 180, Vern had done his job and Orous seemingly had trained his Chasers well but ultimately Sequoia had caught the Snitch. Orous had been close though apparently, the older boy's longer arms apparently coming in useful. Scorpius was quite disappointed, he'd wanted his friends to do well and he thought poor Hugo could use a win after turning. Michael was released the next day, he went straight to the dormitory to lie down and cover himself in drapes to sleep some more. Scorpius gave him space but after Michael still 'slept' through dinner as well as lunch, he was just avoiding having to face the world.

"Michael, you can't just stay in your bed forever. Come on, you have to eat," Scorpius urged him as he pulled back the drapes, seeing Michael lying on his side staring with tired, guilt-ridden eyes at nothing.

"I'm not hungry," Michael mumbled quietly and Scorpius sighed as he sat down on the bedside beside him.

"It's not your fault, you know?" Scorpius offered gently, "The Wolfsbane was tampered with, Professor Vipera confirmed."

"I know it was sabotaged but it doesn't matter. It just goes to show what I'm capable of when not restrained, it shows deep down I'm a monster."

"You shouldn't look at it like that because that's not the way it is, you're _not_ a monster. I know you and this wasn't you, it's just the condition You're more then your condition."

"Those were my own claws, my own teeth, I_ felt_ my own body doing those things and liking- And what the hell happened to you?" Michael changed mid-sentence, seeming to realize something for the first time and actually sat up to look at him in surprise, "I bit you and you… you turned into a _Thestral_? What… What was… Why?"

"I erm… I've been training to become an animagus," Scorpius admitted quietly and nervously, Michael's jaw dropped, "It stopped me turning into a werewolf since only humans can be turned. Or something like that."

"You're an _animagus_?!"

"Yes. Sort of. That was the first time I transformed fully," Scorpius pointed out and Michael continued to look bewildered.

"Then- Then why did you run away when Rojer told you to turn back? He said something about you having your mind or not, animagi keep their minds when they transform."

"When you're still learning, you need to use a spell to keep your mind from going… animal. Mine wore off so I lost my mind, Thestral instincts took over and erm… well, a castle isn't their natural habitat. Rojer tracked me down and brought me back though, otherwise I- I might still be eating birds. It's a risk of the training until you adapt to it."

"Why would do you something so stupid and risky?!" Michael snapped, looking annoyed, "What even is the point?!"

"These guys- the Marauders became them when they found out their friend was a werewolf in the times before Wolfsbane, animagi can be around werewolves more safely so they learned to be around their friend so the transformation would be more bearable. I figured that- that I could try do the same to help you, especially since you attack yourself and all."

"You did that for _me_?" Michael wondered, looked stunned and Scorpius nodded. Michael gaped at him for a moment before anger returned, he scoffed, "Well that's just stupid! You think losing my best friend in a Thestral mind is going to help me?! You think staying with me would help?! I'm a freaking monster, the last thing I want is for people – _or Thestrals_ – to be around me! Nothing can help me! Why would you even waste time on this?! There's so much more to life."

"No, that _is_ life," Scorpius said firmly, slightly hurt by Michael's reaction but nonetheless he didn't regret it. He would help Michael whether his friend wanted it or not, "Friends, family are the things in life that make it worthwhile, if I have to fight for them or to help them then I'll do it. And you fall into that category whether you like it or not."

"You're an idiot."

"If that makes me an idiot then so be it," Scorpius insisted and Michael just looked in him in disbelief before shaking his head.

"Well whatever, if you want to waste your own life then waste your own life but don't blame me," Michael told him as he lay back down on his side, adding so quietly Scorpius barely heard him, "I have enough to be blamed for."

"Are you going to come to dinner now?"

"No."

Scorpius sighed heavily but left his friend be to go to dinner, he swiped what he could from the table though and conjured a plate to put it on when he got back to the dormitory. He left it by Michael's bedside, recalling Michael doing similar back in their First Year. Michael glanced at him with red, tear-stained eyes but said nothing as Scorpius left it. The next day, the plate was empty.

* * *

><p><em>Carver was the most difficult baby and he quickly became the least favorite of Xerxes' children, he was a fussy, colicky and big baby who cried incessantly. And it didn't help his mother was a complete moron, not only did Xerxes have to care for the boy while she worked but she also frequently showed up at his door with their screaming son wanting his help. He had to show her how to change a diaper not once, not twice but three times and he was sure she wasn't doing it right. She didn't know how to feed him either, confused by the fact babies only drank milk and didn't have any solid foods yet, she didn't know to burp him until he mentioned it. Carver ended up in the hospital twice from her trying to bathe him, the first time he nearly drowned in the bath tub because she thought she could leave him in there and the second because she tried to shower him with her and dropped the poor child because they were slippery in the shower. <em>

_Xerxes thought Carver should consider himself lucky to be alive, Maeghan was completely lacking in maternal instinct and everything she did was wrong. He thought it was a good thing he was such a brilliant man and father because if left to her own devices, he was sure Maeghan would've killed Carver accidentally by now. Aside from the shower incident, she'd dropped him twice more, once because he was too heavy and another in shock because she saw a spider. She also forgot him, twice she'd left him on the Knight Bus, once at the park, once in Gringotts and multiple times with Xerxes for days at a time even, she'd also came over to drop him off more than once and forgotten Carver. She claimed she wasn't used to motherhood and was so sleep deprived from Carver's crying that she found it hard to remember things or got confused. And if he complained, she liked to point out how she'd been the one to have to go through pregnancy and childbirth. _

_Xerxes thought she was the worst mother in the world, sure his mother had abandoned him but at least she hadn't been as stupid as Maeghan and actually had a brain. He had to try really hard to resist the urge to point it out to her, if he called out on her poor parenting then she'd break down crying or storm off crying, insisting she was doing her best – her best sucked – and trying to be a good mother, something she failed completely at. He didn't want to be stuck with her crying or for her to leave Carver behind in her anger, didn't she notice he also had Ethan to deal with? The poor boy was an angel compared to his brother, or brothers because Stephan did nothing but act up whenever Xerxes had him. _

_He was so busy juggling his sons that he was reduced to trying to seduce some of his female clients because he couldn't get out, he did succeed with two. A married woman, Jada Kalya, who felt neglected by her absent husband and Alexis "Alzay" Loren who was a rather kind of a psychopath with Daddy issues, good thing he wasn't sleeping with her because of her personality. It was a hectic year but after turning one, Carver finally seemed to be getting over his colic and being more manageable. He considered Stephan the average on baby skills, Carver started walking sooner but talking later while Ethan started talking sooner but walking later. He thought that meant they kind of evened out._

_That was also the year Senna started pushing the organization she worked for and the school Stephan attended, asking him if he was truly happy and promising he could have more. The pay would be much better, steady students and it was some kind of strange sect school. Xerxes ultimately decided it wouldn't hurt to try it, it was expensive paying for himself and contributing to Maeghan for Carver on top of that. Senna told him more and Xerxes realized that he'd been wrong, it did hurt to try it. He wasn't stupid, an 'organization' called the Soul Eaters hell-bent on world domination was not going to let him just walk away with the knowledge he had. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, on one hand it made sense in a practical way but it was undoubtedly dark. He'd already decided to go with it though so he didn't have to worry, he'd rather be with them then against them. _

_It was better for him to accept the job in the current moment, if it all crumbled then he could play the victim – it wasn't a lie they'd have killed him – and go back to his previous life and if it succeeded then he was already in a good position. Xerxes knew maybe he should care more but he wasn't really interested in the politics of the world, he just wanted to his live his life, as long as he and his sons were comfortable then he was happy. The school called 'The Training Tower' very imaginatively was on island now unplottable and invisible, not a particularly warm climate either but he would be given some nice quarters there. It was supposed to specifically train children to be elite soldiers for them, the methods were rather harsh but his children didn't have to use the blood quill so he could live with it. As long as he didn't think about it too much or get close to the children then it would be fine._

_He did warm up to their beliefs a bit when he realized where the children came from, some were from magical families sent because the selfish parents were lured by the thought of elite children or relatives of Soul Eaters or promised to straighten out misbehaving youths, orphans were lapped up from any walk of life and then there was muggle-borns. They often tricked parents into sending away their magical children, the muggles were pretty ignorant and would need to send them away anyway to learn. This was obviously quite mean but it was the fact that the blood purity of the student was irrelevant once they were in training, being pureblooded was obviously best but he didn't have anything against them, just like violet eyes was obviously the best color to have but he didn't hate those with different eye colors._

_Having to move did mean an end to his relationships with Alzay and Jada, Alzay didn't really care but then she did not get attached to the people slept with anymore– in fact, she less than did. Everyone was just a tool to be used at her disposal – then he did but Jada was very upset. It would mean more time with Stephan but it would mean less time with Carver, he also had to bid his son a more temporary farewell and tried encourage Maeghan to send him there. He'd rather his sons be close to him and Maeghan continued to be terrible at motherhood like thinking starting to talk meant he understood English completely, she was quite angry until he had to explain it was learned. Unlike Carver, he was glad to be rid of the idiotic Maeghan. He traveled to the Training Tower with Ethan just before the boy turned two, the perfect age to start on the Soul Eater program. _

* * *

><p>Michael had to leave the dormitory because of classes the next day, he'd only eat when Scorpius put food on his plate and didn't really do anything unless Scorpius pushed him too, he barely even spoke. The other students weren't helping, people stared at Michael when he passed them in the corridors, pointing and whispering. And they were the nice ones, some opening called out slurs and insults against Michael and werewolves in generals. It persisted even after several different teachers had punished them for it and some people were harassed just for being supportive of werewolves. There was support too outside of his friends, Sequoia and both Notts were known to give detentions and deduct points for showing prejudice against werewolves like that. The Koray kids both threatened trouble with their father if they did anything around them, a couple of people from Alchemy class – not Elm – made a point to call people out on it, so did Martha despite Michael's dislike of her and the Quidditch team seemed supportive too.<p>

"I'll punch anyone who insults my teammate," Kemen Arkaitz, the new hulking Beater had promised Scorpius, "You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. That's what teamwork's all about."

He did too, more than one person found a fist in their face for it. Albus also got into several fights for his friend, refusing to take crap from anyone and Orous got into trouble for dueling over it. Michael had a habit of guiltily agreeing with their cruel words against himself, sometimes fighting off tears. Finally, they _did_ actually bring Michael to tears and while Scorpius moved him away to console him, Maurice withdrew his wand. Scorpius didn't see what he did but he knew six people went to the Hospital Wing that night and when they got out, Michael received six apologies. And it wasn't even just Michael getting crap for it, Hugo may have been a victim of the attack but he was a werewolf now and was treated accordingly. Scorpius didn't even realize until he spotted the head of bushy-red hair randomly walking by the Great Hall in pajamas, they were looking a little torn too.

"Hugo, what are you doing in your pajamas?" Scorpius wondered in confusion, Hugo glanced ashamedly at his bare feet while two Hufflepuffs passed snickering.

"When I woke up, all my clothes were gone and everyone's gone to breakfast," Hugo answered quietly, "I'm trying to find a teacher to ask for help."

"Someone hid your clothes?" Scorpius deduced and Hugo started to nod, making Scorpius catch sight of a strange shadow on the younger boy's face. He cupped Hugo's chin and raised his face to look at him, noticing a black eye and a split lip, "Someone beat you up?"

"My roommates ganged up, said they didn't want to die or be werewolves and if I didn't get out of their dormitory then I'd pay," Hugo recounted, wrestling to keep the tears behind his eyes while a few more students passing snickered at him, "I stayed so I had to pay. They do worse every night, last night they beat me up."

"Gee, Lorc, aren't you glad you sent Hugo to meet that secret admirer instead of you? You'd freak if you were beat up and face the humiliation of walking out in public in your pajamas," Lysander commented thoughtlessly as the Scamander twins reached them, Lorcan's face twisted up guiltily, "I mean, assuming they were taken and by students and not Mushanons. They're invisible trolls who feed off cloth."

"Don't see why you're upset," Elm commented casually in passing with a cruel smirk, "Last I checked, dogs don't need to wear clothes. Filthy mongrels don't deserve to pretend they're people, Sanford should be ashamed."

Scorpius hadn't realized he'd moved to punch Elm until he felt his fist collide with the Ravenclaw's jaw, Elm staggered back. Scorpius was filled with rage and didn't regret it, he didn't like Elm and this time was very aware as he cocked his fist back for a second blow. Elm ducked so Scorpius grabbed his collar and slammed him against the wall, keeping him in place to ensure the next blow met its target. He raised his fist again but felt someone pull him back, finding it to be Corin.

"Corin, let me go!" Scorpius snapped at him angrily but Corin didn't budge.

"I'm going to release him in five so I suggest you aren't here by then, one-" Corin started to say but Elm didn't need telling twice, he bolted and only then did Corin let him go, "Bigger fish."

"Bigger fish, he-"

"It was just announced on the wireless, Egypt fell to the Shadows," Maurice spoke up from behind his towering friend, looking grim and in a second, Scorpius did too.

"Come on, Hugo, my Father will sort this out," Corin offered to Hugo behind him, the red-head nodded and allowed himself to be led away.

"I'll help," Lorcan insisted stupidly and followed them, Lysander stayed to watch them with interest.

"That's three countries now?" Lysander queried and Maurice nodded, the blond sighed sadly, "They're dropping faster than Fire Beetles in Antarctica. You know, because Fire Beetles need heat and Antarctica is cold-"

"We get it," Scorpius interjected Lysander nodded, he turned to leave before pausing abruptly.

"You- You don't think they'll be coming here next, do you?" Lysander questioned anxiously, "That would be very bad for Lorcan. He's already very high-strung, he walks me to everywhere because he's scared they'll try to kill me."

"I don't know," Maurice admitted and Lysander left with an uncharacteristically worried expression, "It would be bad for the whole country if they do, it'll be easy pickings when everyone's too busy fighting amongst themselves about werewolves to stop them."

For once, Maurice may have been wrong. The news of the Shadows taking Egypt actually did put a damper on the werewolf hate, it gave people something else to talk about at least and fear replaced anger. Or at least diminished it somewhat. Scorpius was glad for the slight reprieve leading into the next week, it gave him a chance to refocus on his subjects – this was especially good considering Michael's depressive withdrawal extended to classes. He struggled to focus and pay attention, he nearly blew himself in Alchemy. Scorpius hadn't really spoken to Rojer since the forest, he'd been busy with Michael. Not that Rojer seemed to mind or give any indication that anything remotely noteworthy had happened between them, he'd also stopped his animagi training for the same reason. And maybe a little - just a little - because he was terrified of losing his mind.

Scorpius was helping Michael a lot with the classwork, his Dyslexia also kept him behind on homework so he was slow to do anything. He was spending twice as much time helping Michael with his homework as he was his own, Abby and Albus lacked the studiousness to help, Maurice was focused on the Shadow assassin and protecting the Scamanders, the others were too young and Rose… Rose seemed oddly reluctant to help him, always claiming to be too busy. In fact, if he didn't know any better then he'd say she was avoiding Michael.

At any rate, he didn't have time to dwell on that and was glad for more time as well as in general because it was wrong. Now they knew Hugo was also being targeted, they could try stick up for him too but he had a feeling the poor kid was worse off. Michael at least had a lot of friends around him all the time but Hugo didn't, his friends were either in different years or different houses so he had to go his own way more often and alone meant more likely to be targeted. He knew the staff had been made aware of his roommates but he wasn't sure what was being done about it, he'd been meaning to ask but he hadn't seen Hugo.

There was also another reason it was good: Quidditch. The Gryffindor versus Slytherin match was that weekend, Scorpius showered his team in practices to try prepare them despite the increasingly colder temperatures as Novemeber neared its end. Even Michael's Quidditch performance was being affected by his unhappiness, he seemed a bit off his game but he still seemed more focused then usual these days and Scorpius thought it was one of the few things that could take his mind off his werewolf issues. He wanted to win, not just for himself but because he thought it might be good for Michael, a win might warm at least the Gryffindors back up to Michael since he was their star Chaser. Plus on n a personal level, maybe it would help Michael to get a win to feel like a victor, to succeed, to focus on some aspect of his life other than his condition. Winning might be harder said than done though, Slytherin were good and he really wasn't sure how his Captainship compared to Grozda Krum. He supposed time would tell.


	24. VI: Out

_**Thanks to:** percyjackson42 and Colin Creevey for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_ If they weren't on the same team, would they still stick up for him? _**  
><em>Montague would be indifferent, Kemen would but not so vehemently, the rest would but most of them are Michael's friends or part of the PotterWeasley clan anyway so on his side anyway_

* * *

><p>The day of the match finally came and Scorpius felt himself unusually wracked with nerves, it was his first game as Captain after all. Michael won the award for most anxious before a game though, his stress driving him to lose his dinner the night before and whatever remnants had been left before breakfast. Scorpius allowed Michael to not eat, he was looking green enough as he sat there shivering silently with his face in his hands.<p>

"You okay, buddy?" Albus asked him anxiously and patted the taller boy's shoulder.

"Just nervous about playing in front of everyone," Michael mumbled into his hands, "More than usual since everyone hates me and all. Not that I blame them."

They finished breakfast and Scorpius led his team down to the lockers, Michael still looking equal chance as likely to vomit as he was to get on his broom and play. He thought it felt oddly empty without Molly, she'd always been there. He also thought it felt strangely quiet, everyone was just sitting around nervously or pacing wildly in Rufus Rhett's case, Roxy was trying to comfort Michael who sat clinging to a bucket as if expecting to hurl again. It dawned on Scorpius why, Molly had given a speech before matches and now she was gone. And he was the Captain, he was supposed to be the one building up their morale.

"Okay team!" Scorpius said with more confidence then he felt, swinging his fist as he stood and the six pairs of eyes turned to him. Now _he_ felt nervous again, he cleared his throat and shifted awkwardly, "So this is our first match! This year. Against Slytherin. They are a good team, supposedly have found a new talented Seeker, led by the daughter of a world famous Quidditch star-"

"Who is my girlfriend," Albus offered proudly, "She's the greatest."

"Are you _trying_ to make us feel worse?" Montague the new Chaser wondered, looking rather worried and Scorpius' cheeks tinged crimson.

"No, of course not," Scorpius insisted, "If you'd let me finish, I was going to say it doesn't matter who she is because she's not her father and our team is pretty good too."

"Only pretty good?"

"Very good?"

"Very good isn't great through, is it?" Kemen Arkaitz, the new Beater, spoke up.

"Very good is _very_ good."

"But it's not as good as great."

"Well who said they were great?" Scorpius demanded in irritation.

"Al did," Rufus pointed out.

"Well my point is that we can beat them!" Scorpius snapped in frustration, he jabbed his finger at the exit, "So get out there and let's win this!"

"Err… Aren't you supposed to walk out first though?" Rufus questioned curiously and Scorpius sighed heavily.

"You're not good at inspiring people, are you?" Montague wondered with an eyebrow rising.

Scorpius decided to give up for the day and just went over ready to walk out, little Rufus Rhett the replacement Keeper standing nervously by his side. They went out as usual onto the pitch, Scorpius finding it felt weird to be the first one out. He also noticed the cheering seemed diminished and… and was that booing? Boos were drowning out the cheers and it only took him a second to realize why, at least if the banner of a snake devouring a wolf's head was anything to go by. They were booing because of Michael. He also got another surprise when he noticed a familiar face on the Slytherin team: Lorcan Scamander.

"Lorcan? You're their new Seeker?" Scorpius couldn't help blurting out in shock.

"Well you guys suggested I get a hobby…" Lorcan pointed out sheepishly.

"Captains, shake hands!" Krum – the Flying Instructor who would also act as referee – barked, effectively ending their discussion.

Grozda stepped forward and Scorpius stupidly started to wonder why Molly was taking so long before recalling he was the Captain, he hoped the slight delay in his movement went unnoticed. He stepped forward and clasped the bony hand the sallow-skinned Grozda offered, her expression was deathly serious and her shake extremely firm. They walked back to their respective spots, he caught Albus trying not to smile at his girlfriend and resisted the urge to roll his eyes as they mounted their brooms. The equally sallow-skinned Krum released the balls, threw the Quaffle into the air and the game launched into action.

Literally, Michael drove straight in and tore off with the Quaffle before anyone else could grab it. Grozda tried to tackle it off him when she'd caught up but he passed with perfect timing to Montague who tossed it through the unguarded – the Keeper hadn't gotten into position yet – hoop, securing Gryffindor the first point of the match. And it was far from the last. Michael was on fire, he streamed through the skies and scored goal after goal. The new Slytherin Keeper wasn't as good as the old one, combined with the fact Albus had improved and Montague was proving to be a good replacement to Latimer gave them the advantage as it rested on the Chasers to keep the Quaffle away much more. Rufus Rhett had been trained well by Molly and was also serving well as Keeper, much better the Slytherin, three times better if the score was anything to go by. The Slytherin Beaters were good but Roxy and Kemen were also proving to be a good team, keeping each other occupied.

Scorpius felt really quite proud of his team, it would take a Snitch catch for Slytherin to win. Which made him feel rather bad for not catching it yet, he felt like he was the only one of his team not pulling his weight and Lorcan wasn't doing much better. It was a cloudy day but still quite visible yet the Snitch was being quite elusive, the only time either of them saw it was from a distance and had lost sight of it in the chaos of the Chasers long before drawing close enough for it to matter. And kept on going, the minutes were seeping into hours. Finally, Scorpius caught sight of it when it started to rain when he caught a glimpse of gold above him. Thankfully, out of the way of the Chasers.

Scorpius didn't hesitate before shooting towards it, however Lorcan had seen it too and also bolted. For a second he was confident, he was closer than Lorcan but the younger boy was also on a newer, faster broom due to Scorpius' refusal to give up his _The Dart_ broom for sentimental value. Lorcan reached him as he was closing in on the Snitch, he swiped at it but Lorcan's broom pushed him ahead and his fingers brushed it first. The small golden ball fell into Lorcan's smaller hands, the Slytherin grinned at his victory and just for a moment he looked like his happier, carefree twin.

"And Scamander catches the Snitch!" the female commentator whose name he didn't know and commentary he didn't pay attention to called out but her next words shocked them both, "Too bad it's too late, Gryffindor wins 230 to 220 thanks to the last goal by an impressive last goal Michael Sanford."

"Well… Well done," Scorpius offered awkwardly to the younger boy while Lorcan's face fell, "Good catch."

"In the end it didn't even matter," Lorcan scoffed bitterly.

Scorpius opened his mouth to say something comforting but in that moment, Lorcan's broom jerked abruptly and his body was thrown clean off. He tried to grab the broom but it slipped right through his fingers and he started to drop like a stone, Scorpius dove after him to try help. He tried to catch Lorcan but the boy's terror at being touched kicked in, he screamed and there was a burst of light that flung Scorpius off his broom, sending him spiraling. He considering transforming but it was too late.

In the next instance his body hit the ground, which was surprisingly soft and bouncy like a cross between a cushion and a trampoline. He bounced back into the air from the force he the ground at before finally landing, it was grass though and now regular ground again. He glanced over and saw Lorcan lying a few feet away, the Slytherin scrambling for his wand and looking around in panic as his amber eyes filled with tears. He seemed unharmed though, presumably the bouncy ground had applied to him as well. Lorcan started crawling over to him quickly while their brooms dropped at different places near the.

"I-I'm sorry," Lorcan apologized, his face and voice both riddled with guilt as tears spilled from his eyes as he started shaking, "I'm so sorry, Scorpius, I'm so sorry. I c-couldn't even handle touch to save my life, I'm so sorry. Are you alright? I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Scorpius brushed it off, understanding even if he felt really shaken, "I don't blame you. I blame this assassin."

"Scorpius!" Michael cried as he landed, practically jumping off his broom to get to the normal ground, "Lorcan! Are you okay!?"

"We're okay," Scorpius assured his friend as the others started landing.

"What in the bloody hell was that?!" Albus demanded of no one in particular.

"Lorcan's broom just threw him off, someone must've cursed it. Probably the same someone who went after Lysander twice, screwed up the Wolfsbane and poisoned me."

"I really hate that person!" Albus yelled angrily as people started pouring onto the pitch.

"Are you two okay?!" Professor Ashain demanded as he reached him first, Scorpius also caught sight of his friends, other staff – not Rojer – and a few other faces he recognized, Martha's face was stained by tears.

"We're okay," Lorcan offered and hastily wiped his eyes, "Did- Did you save us?"

"My son did, our magic wasn't working. Got to love those accidental underage magic usages," Professor Ashain explained and clapped his son on the back affectionately, giving him a proud smile. Antonius didn't seem to notice though, his young face white and his expression anxiety ridden as he eyed the crowd. Scorpius knew what the boy was thinking, the assassin was still out there.

* * *

><p><em>Xerxes found himself rather enjoying his new position. His living quarters were nicer than his British apartment, the pay was better, the work was doable, he saw more of Stephan and Ethan being in training gave him more free time to himself while still being able to see the boy. He also found Jada was apparently having a hard time letting him go, she wrote love letters to him frequently and begged him to come back. Being the kind person he was, he obliged. He did return to England every few weeks to see Carver, it wasn't hard to arrange to meet her too when he made time to look for women again now that he finally had the time. Jada was kind of boring but easy or at least he thought, she started asking him if he wanted her to leave her husband for him and assuring him she was really quite willing to do that. He kept refusing, he didn't love her and had no intention of marrying her so leaving her husband was quite pointless. He really underestimated her tenacity though.<em>

_"I'm pregnant," Jada announced to him when he was in England for Carver's second birthday, Xerxes could only blink in shock._

_"I guess this means you're definitely staying with your husband then?" Xerxes guessed in confusion, if she was ending it with him then she seemed strangely cheerful and he didn't see why she'd think he'd be happy for her pregnancy. He wasn't unhappy, he just didn't give a damn if it had nothing to do with him._

_"It's yours, my husband hasn't touched me in months."_

_"But I-I was careful?" Xerxes stammered out in shock, he was quite sure he had been. _

_"I know, I countered the spell," Jada told him casually and smiled, "Now I'm pregnant with your baby, I have to leave my husband and we can be together, be a family."_

_"I'm not marrying you," Xerxes scoffed determinedly and her face fell, "I already have three children and I didn't marry their mothers, I'll support you financially and be involved in raising them but we won't be doing it as a couple."_

_"But I love you."_

_"Well I don't love you, I never said I did," Xerxes pointed out quite truthfully while she started crying._

_"I left my husband for you!" Jada sobbed as she buried her face I her hands._

_"Well that was stupid of you," Xerxes stated as he stood to leave, she wasn't going to sleep with him when she was all upset and angry so he figured he'd leave. It wasn't like it was his fault she was upset, he hadn't told her to sabotage his contraceptive spells and leave her husband. It was her own dumb choices, "I'll be in touch when you've talked about this with your husband and in advance, I'd recommend Viola for a girl. Andreas, Aldous or Everard are my top picks for a boy."_

_Xerxes didn't feel as happy about this pregnancy as the others, mostly because it had been deliberate on her part but he did get more excited when that discomfort eased with time. Jada's husband kicked her out and she was forced to stay with her family, she stopped sending him love letters. It really got him thinking though, she'd left her husband just like his mother had left his father and he didn't think he agreed with that. In a marriage, he thought people should stay together and stay loyal, if they didn't then they shouldn't be getting married in the first place. This was probably why he doubted he would ever get married. And if he was going to marry any of his children's mothers then it would have been Edythe without question, but she was dead, he still missed her sometimes._

_The whole thing got him thinking of his own mother a lot though again, he hadn't seen her in over twenty years now. He was onto his fourth child and his mother had never met any of her grandchildren, did she even care? And so he decided to use his extra free time to start looking for her again, he asked some of the other staff for help or advice and it turned out to be far more productive then he could've hoped. Within a week, one of them came back to him with an address. He'd found his mother._

* * *

><p>Everyone was on edge in the wake of another attempt, it was getting ridiculous. Maurice now had to cover the bases of both Scamanders since both were definitely targets, he also objected to Scorpius going anywhere alone in case attention ever turned back to him since he'd been the first target. Whenever he saw Lorcan, the poor boy's head would never stop swiveling and his wand hand twitching in readiness for attack. He didn't look like he was sleeping either, the bags beneath his eyes were black and his eyes bloodshot. On the bright side, the win from Michael seemed to have eased the prejudice a bit more amongst Gryffindors at least. It was something and the attempt seemed to ease Michael out of his shell a bit more, if only so he could worry about it so he still remained rather unhappy. He wasn't sleeping much either, Scorpius heard him tossing and turning, once he even woke up sobbing.<p>

November eased into December and with it came the first flakes of the year, the Black Lake became a sheet of ice and the grass covered by a snuggly blanket of soft snow. Scorpius supposed he should count himself lucky that the icy weather had only hit after the Quidditch match as opposed to before, Professor Hagrid took the weather as a perfect opportunity to showcase some of the creatures who lived in the colder environments and Professor Longbottom did the same for plants so there was no reprieve from the weather. The start of December also meant the next full moon was drawing near, Hugo and Scorpius' first since their respective transformations. Professor Vipera had taken it upon herself to make the Wolfsbane with her own two hands and giving it to them in person, ensuring that there was no chance of it being tampered with. He knew Michael was still paranoid though and Hugo walked around as pale as one of the ghosts, Scorpius himself was anxious about it.

He hadn't attempted transforming since losing his mind after all, whenever he thought about it his stomach tied up in knots at the thought of a repeat of the process. He knew he shouldn't put it off, the more he practiced it the sooner he mastered it and then he wouldn't have to worry about it at all yet still he was afraid. And he knew he shouldn't be, he'd done it to be there for Michael and he wanted to be whatever Michael thought. He also had the challenge of Marigold, he had bravely agreed to keep watch over them despite being mauled by Michael and Scorpius didn't want anyone to know of his ability. The Aurors were taking precaution though, they'd be there to make sure they transformed with their minds before returning to their posts. Despite himself, Scorpius did feel a sliver of pity for the Aurors who did guard outside even in the poor weather. The week of the full moon though, there was a surprising development and it was not about werewolves at all but rather the assassin.

"I know who the assassin is," Maurice told him abruptly when Scorpius was on his way back to the Common Room after finishing some homework in Library, Scorpius stopped in his tracks to look at the approaching boy in shock, "I was just with Cassia-"

"Why with Cassia?" Scorpius wondered in surprise.

"I'm still teaching her Occlumency like last year, she can do it but I'm not stopping until she is a Master Occlumens. Besides, it doesn't hurt to practice especially considering her young age," Maurice explained quickly, "And we also use the sessions now to work out who the assassin is, I told you she's been tracking everyone and today she revealed the name of the girl you helped on the train."

"It's not Martha."

"Oh but it is, didn't you know her last name is _Seneca?"_ Maurice said very firmly, looking at him expectantly as if the name was supposed to mean something. Scorpius just looked at him in confusion, the name sounded vaguely familiar but didn't ring any bells of alarm, "Did I emphasize it wrong? Her name is Martha Seneca."

"So what?"

"So, her father is Xerxes Seneca," Maurice told him and again Scorpius drew a blank, Maurice looked incredibly frustrated, "Xerxes was a Shadow! He's Pyrrhus Florian's half-brother, Viola Kalya and Carver Edwards' father! She's a Shadow as well, Cassia says she's extremely talented at Defense Against the Dark Arts. She's been trained just like they were, she's a Shadow just like they are and she has to be the one trying to kill you."

"But Martha's a good kid," Scorpius insisted, finding it hard to believe the poor girl was secretly the assassin, "She's a Hufflepuff."

"And? Viola was a Slytherin, Carver was a Gryffindor, if he gets a Ravenclaw then he'll have hit the quadfecta! The girl is a Shadow and she's trying to kill you."

"She watches most of the practices, why did she wait until the game to jinx a broom if she's trying to kill me?"

"I don't know, let's ask her."

"We don't where she is," Scorpius pointed out but Maurice was already nonverbally summoning the Marauder's Map from his pocket, "Maurice don't, I'm sure she's good."

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Maurice stated as he tapped the map, he glanced at it before handing it to Scorpius and stalking off, "I'm just going to talk to her."

"Maurice!" Scorpius hissed as he shoved it back in his pocket and chased after the younger boy, trying to grab his arm to get his attention. Maurice looked but didn't stop, "She's an eleven year old kid not-"

"You realize I'm still deaf, right? I don't know what you're saying and I don't care, this girl is guilty. I know it."

"Maurice," Scorpius said stupidly, trying to physically yank him back to force him to use his necklace to listen.

"Hey Martha! We want to talk to you!" Maurice bellowed suddenly and Scorpius glanced up in surprise, noticing Martha walking down with Auriga Koray while the deaf boy put a hand to his necklace.

"She's a white soul," Scorpius pointed out in an annoyed whisper while Auriga seemed to do the same to Martha except not in annoyance.

"Just because she hasn't killed yet, it doesn't mean she isn't trying."

"Okay, I'll catch up with you later," Martha said finally to Auriga, the girls waving in farewell as they parted with Martha moving over to them and Auriga heading on down the stairs, "What is it?"

Before Scorpius could react, Maurice grabbed her roughly and pulled her through the nearest door. Scorpius scrambled after them, finding an empty classroom while Maurice slammed Martha against the wall with one hand and aimed his wand at her neck with the other. The pairs of gray eyes in the room both widened in shock while Maurice let go of her to grab his necklace, he flicked his wand at the door and it locked before turning it back to her neck.

"I know who you are and I know what you did!" Maurice yelled at her angrily, "You're Xerxes Seneca's daughter, you're a Shadow! Why are you trying to kill Scorpius and the Scamanders?!"

"Let her go! You said you were just going to talk to her," Scorpius insisted indignantly.

"I am just talking to her!" Maurice snapped, sparing him an angry look before returning his attention to the small girl, "Now answer me!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Martha whispered fearfully.

"_Crucio!"_

Maurice blasted the girl with the Unforgivable Curse, moving his translator hand to hold her back in place to stop her falling to the ground. Instead she was pinned against the wall, writhing and screaming in agony. Scorpius jumped in without hesitation, grabbing Maurice and forcefully throwing him off her while Martha crumpled to the ground in tears.

"NO!" Scorpius yelled at him furiously, refusing to allow the torture of an eleven year old who he still didn't think was guilty. He turned back to Martha and helped the shaking girl to her feet, the residual effects of the curse still rippling through her, "Are you okay?"

"I-" Martha started to answer but Maurice grabbed her from him again, shoving her back against the wall and aiming his wand again but this time with a different spell.

"_Legilimens!"_ Maurice cast, narrowing his eyes but Martha squeezed hers shut and a second later Maurice was pushed back, "You're an Occlumens?!"

"My Father is Xerxes Seneca, of course I'm an Occlumens!" Martha yelled back and leaned weakly back against the wall, breathing heavily while Maurice grabbed his necklace.

"So you admit it?!" Maurice snapped triumphantly while Scorpius could only watch the unfolding scene in shock, "You're Xerxes Seneca's child?"

"Yes I am," Martha affirmed, looking slightly more sure of herself, "But so what?"

"He's a Shadow."

"He's dead."

"You were trained."

"So were you," Martha countered fiercely although she still shook from the after effects of the curse, "But you got out and so did I, I never even got around to taking the Test. I'm not a Shadow, I'm nothing to do with them anymore. I'm just trying to live a normal life away from all that pain and brainwashing, just like you are."

"I don't believe you," Maurice told her firmly while Scorpius found he did, she'd just admitted to the family connection and her words sounded genuine, "It's too much of a coincidence, you're trying to kill them. I know it, I just don't know why."

"I'm not trying to kill Scorpius and I've never even met the Scamanders."

"I don't believe you."

"Well I do," Scorpius spoke up and tore open the door, he took Martha's hand to lead her out while Maurice narrowed his eyes darkly, "And we're done here."

"Thank you," Martha offered quietly as they left.

"I'm sorry about that," Scorpius told her apologetically as she stared down at her shoes.

"It's okay, I'm used to being tortured. Its part of our training," Martha explained calmly while in contrast looked rather upset, "Not a part I miss."

"Well it's over now," Scorpius assured her and rubbed her shoulder gently, she glanced at him solemnly.

"I wish it were over."

* * *

><p>Martha Seneca crept down the vacant halls of Hogwarts, it was dark now and way past curfew. She wasn't concerned though, if she got caught then Auriga would just have her father get her off. She had been in the Ravenclaw Common Room working on a big homework project with her anyway, despite sometimes taking advantage of her father's teacher status she genuinely wanted to impress him with her work. Martha found it all rather easy, being in schooling since the day she turned two seemed to have given her an unfair advantage in Hogwarts. Not that she minded, it freed her mind up to focus on her task. Her horrible, horrible task.<p>

She sighed heavily, it was the full moon and exactly a month ago she had tried to use to kill the Scamanders with Michael. He was nice enough but he was suspicious of her, at best she'd hoped he'd be expelled out the way or at least distracted by what he'd done. That had gone badly. Just like all her other attempts. And now Maurice suspected her, quite rightly. And Scorpius didn't, she felt guilty that he had so much faith in her innocence and quite sick with herself if she could lie that well. She didn't want to kill Scorpius, he was so good to her, so kind and sweet and so handsome… You shouldn't develop crushes on people you were supposed to kill, that was why you shouldn't really date or think about that stuff.

It's not like she'd chosen to feel that way though and now it just made it harder, she'd put off killing him to focus on the Scamanders because she kept chickening out. She'd have to eventually, she'd have to betray that faith and trust. She truly did feel sick to her stomach about it, she lay awake at night with her stomach churning and her mind wracked by guilt. And that was when she wasn't crying for her dead father and the fact she was aiding his killer, her own uncle who she also cared about. She had to kill the Scamanders first though which Scorpius seemed averse too, it wasn't like she had anything against them except maybe Lorcan for nearly killing Scorpius too. They just had to die, Carver said it was the only way to end the Shadow Master and the war with it.

What were a few lives and her own torment about it to end the war? The Shadows had already broken Ethan, how long before it destroyed Carver, Andreas, Davin and Rocio's spirits too? Or else they actually became brainwashed into loyalty like Stephan and Viola? Xerxes junior and the unborn one would surely be thrown into the Training Tower when they were old enough too. The war had to end, it had to end if she was to save her family. No matter what. She was torn from her thoughts by a sound, she froze and spun expecting a Prefect but saw no one. Her cloudy eyes skimmed the darkness but nothing, she reluctantly started to walk on but stayed alert. She heard a sound again, this time unmistakably a spell being cast.

"_Protego!"_ Martha cried and slammed up a shield in the direction of the noise, her shield caught the spell but it was shattered and the force still blew her back into an empty room while her attacker followed, "_Lumos! Petrificus Totalis!"_

The first spell lit up her wand to see in the gloom, however her attacker was wearing all black and had his face covered by a mask like a ninja. He leaped out of the way of her spell and raised his wand, she was faster though.

"_Expelliarmus!"_ Martha cast and with practiced perfection.

The spell hit the attacker and sent his wand soaring while the man himself fell back. Or boy, he was lanky and teen-sized which was backed up by the fact he'd had to speak a spell to attack her in the first place. He didn't know non-verbal magic yet and being slower than her meant he hadn't been trained, it wasn't Maurice. Did the Shadows have someone within Hogwarts? She didn't know, she didn't even know how they'd figure her out. She approached the downed boy cautiously, trying not to show her anxiety or fear and kept her wand aimed on him.

"Who are you? Why did you attack me?" Martha demanded and abruptly the boy jerked his leg.

Martha was taken by surprise as her legs were swept out from under her, she still had her wand but the boy lunged on her before she'd had the chance to use it. He was stronger than her, he ripped her wand away and threw it. She started to focus on wandless magic to get him off her but he smashed his fist into her face, her head thudded painfully against the stone but she spotted his wand lying nearby. She tried to reach it but he was already scrambling for it, his arms were longer and within seconds he was now straddling her with a wand in her face. She tried to refocus but he muttered a spell, the world went black.

She blinked a few times but the world stayed black, he'd blinded her. She started to panic, she couldn't use wandless magic if she couldn't see. And then she felt him hit her, again and again, again and again. Her head continued to throb after he stopped and she heard a scraping sound, metal dragging across stone. There was a second's silence before she something cold and sharp stabbed into her shoulder, she screamed in pain.

"Oh, what's the matter? Does that hurt?!" the attacker snapped, "Don't like it when someone's hurting you, huh?! But you're fine with trying to kill innocent people who've done nothing wrong, Lorcan's been through enough and dragging Michael into it like that was _sick_! You're sick, you're a sick person! You evil, heartless bitch!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Martha whispered fearfully, tasting the salty blood in her mouth as she spoke and screamed again as she felt the blade tearing through her flesh.

"I don't like sick people and neither do the Soul Eaters," the attacker hissed and she felt her trickling blood run suddenly colder as her heart ran faster, "That's right, the Soul Eaters. They also don't like it when people try to kill those the Master wants to live. You're going to tell me why, you're going to tell me who, you're going to tell me _everything _and then maybe I'll be kind enough to end your agony. You've been trained to resist the Cruciatus Curse but can you resist _this_?"

The blade ripped through her arm once more and Martha screamed in agony into the silent night.


	25. VI: Morbid Interest

_**Thanks to:** percyjackson42, Lucifersdaughter, Colin Creevey and Cal for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_So the shadows are invested in keeping the gray souls alive why is that?/Why does Sal want the scarred wrists' to live?_**  
><em>Because she's connected to them plus she has an interest in magical twins and Scorpius because he's her cousin<em>

**_Was his magic accidental really, or was it because of the wand? If so, how come Antonius could use his wand but Atticus' magic didn't work? What was happening? _**  
><em>Kind of both, he tried to use his wand but the magic didn't work on Lorcan either (Martha jinxed the broom to throw him off and Lorcan himself to not be capable of being effect by spells to stop him falling) so he thought of softening the ground instead (Martha didn't jinx the ground, that's why it worked) and in his panic, he channeled magic and the wand did as he subconsciously wanted <em>

**_Is Martha sure it's a boy? Is there a possibility it could be a girl?_**  
><em>The attacker was definitely physically a teenage boy but it could still be a girl, it could be anyone with the magic of Polyjuice potion<em>

* * *

><p>The night of the full moon, Scorpius finally worked up the courage to try transforming again. Even if he wasn't sure he could get to Michael, he really needed to because Wyatt had mentioned losing your progress if you didn't do it. It also meant enlisting his friends help to make sure he could be turned back, forcing him to speak to Maurice who he was still rather annoyed with for confronting Martha and Albus for the Invisibility Cloak. There was no way he would be turning into a Thestral while their dorm mates slept, it was too big and risky. Albus opted to come along as well so the pair were under the cloak, Maurice chose to use a Disillusionment Charm instead. A good one, Scorpius couldn't see him at all.<p>

"I still can't believe you waited a month to tell me about how you actually transformed," Albus complained at him once they'd safely reached their destination.

They called it the Room That Didn't Exist, also known as the Room of Requirement which could adapt to the user's wishes. It was currently a large space with a handful of comfortable chairs for Albus and Maurice to sit on plus a fireplace to keep them warm against the cold night, the deaf boy removed his charm as they threw off the cloak.

"I just didn't want to talk about it," Scorpius brushed it off, still uncomfortable at the thought of losing his mind, "Rojer saved me anyway."

"Why didn't Rojer say anything?" Albus wondered as he settle down in one of the chairs along with Maurice, the latter putting a hand to his necklace to gaze around solemnly.

"I don't know, I don't think he really cared."

"I'm surprised you aren't freaking out that he's saved you twice now and you killed Ashylos."

"Well I finally told him about it."

"And you didn't think to mention that either?!" Albus burst out, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation.

"I thought you all wanted me to _stop_ talking about Rojer?" Scorpius wondered incredulously.

"It still would've been nice to know the conclusion of your obsession, what happened? How did he react?"

"He err… He forgave me. He has his own guilt issues about Ashylos' death though."

"Told you," Maurice said smugly with a smirk, "Was I right about him being captured and tortured about Grindelwald's men too?"

"Yes," Scorpius grudgingly admitted and Maurice fist pumped the air, "But it's not how his leg was crippled, he got that in a Nazi concentration camp."

"What's that?"

"Mother of Merlin, stop the presses! A momentous event has occurred, Maurice Rivers doesn't know something! That's right people, the boy doesn't know!" Albus exclaimed in mock shock, Maurice threw him a scowl.

"Do you know what it is?"

"No," Albus scoffed and slouched lazily into his chair was he withdrew a brown bag, "But I'm not an all-knowing genius like you are."

"I'm not an all-knowing genius," Maurice insisted while Albus withdrew a hand of popcorn and shoved it into his mouth, "Are you eating popcorn?"

"One of my best mates is turning into a Thestral, I think it's a popcorn worthy event and I wouldn't miss it," Albus said through a mouthful of popcorn while Scorpius sat on the floor, putting the spells on himself in readiness, "Feels like ages since we were in this room, doesn't it?"

"No, I go here twice a week with Cassia," Maurice told him and looked slightly surprised, "Don't you take Grozda here? It's the perfect place for some privacy for… you know."

"Grozda's way too busy with NEWTs and Quidditch practices to hang out with me, the most I can do is to keep sending her things to show I still care. I'll tell you, having a girlfriend is expensive especially in winter when you can't even pick flowers. I tried to ask Abby for help getting flowers and she got all mad at me for no reason, I blame Pentakel," Albus informed them before frowning at Maurice, "What do you mean by 'you know' anyway?"

"You know."

"If I knew then I wouldn't have asked."

"Can we please just focus? You're supposed to be helping me with my animagus training," Scorpius interrupted irritably as he finished with the spells, he effectively drew the attention of both boys back though.

"Go for it, Scor," Albus offered encouragingly as he shoved another handful of popcorn into his mouth.

Scorpius focused and just like before, he felt his entire body morphing into a Thestral. He thought it was more painful than last time, although admittedly the injuries from Michael had probably taken away from it. He transformed all the same though, gazing at his friends' souls as Albus whooped with delight and clapped before Scorpius felt his body shifting back already into his human form.

"That was awesome!" Albus exclaimed excitedly while Maurice frowned.

"Why am I here if you can just turn back?" Maurice complained.

"In case I get stuck like I did before," Scorpius insisted and Maurice sighed, he gestured for him to carry on though while Albus continued stuffing his face with popcorn.

Scorpius transformed a few more times, turning into a Thestral every time but thankfully keeping his mind before bouncing back into his human form. After a while though, he started to notice a very distinct smell coming from somewhere outside the room. Blood. As a Thestral, he found himself very drawn to investigate it and as a human, concerned.

"What's wrong?" Albus queried after Scorpius stayed as a Thestral for longer than usual, ignoring the urge to turn back seemed to have repressed it.

"I smell blood," Scorpius told them, "We have to check it out, I'll turn back into a Thestral and then you guys follow me."

"Okay," Maurice agreed while Albus put aside his bag of popcorn.

Scorpius transformed his now aching body once more into a Thestral and trotted over to the door, his friends followed and Maurice opened it for him. With the door open, the smell was much stronger and he headed off at a slight canter while his friends ran slowly after him. If someone was in danger, they'd die by the time the three reached them. When he got to the Grand Staircase, he jumped and spread his wings to glide down to the correct floor and gallop where his nose was leading him, he had to get there.

He found the correct door and glanced back for his friends but they were far behind him now, instead he rose up on his hind legs and kicked down the door with his front ones. He was met with the sight of dark, masked figure leaning over a small, bloody body with a crimson knife in his hand. The assailant had a white soul and seemed surprised to see him – or if he couldn't see Thestrals then the door being knocked down – and hastily ran, Scorpius reared up again to jump on him but the boy threw himself out of the way.

He was already scrambling to his feet into a run and Scorpius was about to go after him but he was distracted as the victim's head lolled in his direction, it was Martha and she was already lying in a pool of blood. He was very torn, he didn't need to be a healing expert to know she needed help and might die if he went after her attacker but then if he didn't, the attacker would probably get away. Why did his friends have to run so slowly?! Scorpius irritably decided on life and charged in to Martha, the scent of blood quite alluring to his Thestral instincts. He wanted to change back and for a wonder, he actually did.

* * *

><p><em>It took Xerxes several days to work up the courage to go to see his mother, he apparated to the street she lived on but it took him several more days of staring at the grubby apartment block and walking up to the door before he finally had the courage to knock. He'd spent so long without his mother, wondering how she was and what he would say when he saw her, what she would say and what she would think of him. But now he actually had the chance and the door was right in front of him, he found himself wrought with nerves with his stomach twisting and untwisting into various knots. He didn't know how he felt or what he expected but he finally couldn't wait anymore.<em>

_Hecate didn't live in a nice place, the front door was falling off its hinges and the lock broken already. Inside was even worse, the stench of urine was so overpowering it made his nostrils want to shrivel up. The walls were all graffitied or stained or both, discarded garbage littered the halls. Rats were gnawing on some of it and didn't seem the slightest bit concerned by the presence of a human moving through their territory, he saw some cockroaches scattering though. Xerxes felt rather disgusted and dirty just from being there, his crisp, clean clothes felt very out of place. Did people really live here? Did his mother really? She'd come from such a wealthy family and now she lived in his dump? He shook his head and continued on to get to her door, the wood was rotting and the number had fallen off the door, leaving behind a number shaped space a lighter shade then the rest of the door. He wrapped on it._

_"It's open!" a hoarse female voice called and Xerxes nervously pushed the door open with his sweating hands, finding the handle so loose he feared it would fall off._

_Xerxes wasn't sure what he was expecting but he found the room bare, it was a small room with ratty floorboards and no furniture beyond a single mattress wedged in the corner under the window. There was a door opposite in as poor condition as the entrance, beyond he caught a glimpse of what looked like a bathroom. There was a woman lying on the mattress, a frail, skeletal thing with violet eyes sunken into a gaunt, once beautiful face, her red hair dull and dirty. She clutched a threadbare blanket around herself and had a clothes helping prop her up her ragged pillow, there was a cardboard box by the mattress as if in place of a bedside table upon which rested her wand. His mother._

_"Well? What the hell do you want?" Hecate demanded of him in the same rasping voice, eyes narrowing on him sharply._

_"Don't you recognize your own son?" Xerxes spat at her in his mother tongue for the first time in a long time, feeling a blade of hurt and anger piercing his hurt while she broke into a horrific cough. He closed the door behind himself and approached her, she squinted at him when the coughing fit as passed._

_"Xerxes?" Hecate wondered weakly while her bulged in surprise, he nodded, "Look how big you got."_

_"Of course I got bigger, it's been twenty-one years. And six months," Xerxes snapped rather testily as she leaned back, still ogling him, "Not that I'm counting."_

_"That long, huh?"_

_"Yes, that long. Don't you pay attention to the time?"_

_"My mind's going, Xerxes, I can't keep track of much these days," Hecate admitted and started coughing again._

_"You're not that old, don't play the senile card," Xerxes barked at her indignantly as the fit passed._

_"It's not because I'm old, it's because I'm sick. You're lucky you caught me on a good day," Hecate pointed out testily, "And from your tone, I'm guessing you aren't too happy with me."_

_"You left me!" Xerxes yelled at her before he could stop himself, tears pricking his yes, "I was your son and you left me! No cards, no letters, no contact, you just walked away like I was a bad one night stand!"_

_"Oh get over it already, it was twenty-one and a half years ago apparently," Hecate brushed it off with a roll of her eyes and another cough, tears leaked from his eyes._

_"Don't you care? Don't you care at all?"_

_"At all? Yeah. But if you're going to stand there blubbering like a baby just because Mummy and Daddy didn't love you enough as a child, don't expect sympathy. Get over yourself, go grab a beer and shove your dick in someone, whatever makes you happy, move on. Don't be such a spoiled little brat, the world doesn't exist to serve you and newsflash: neither do your parents."_

_"I know that, you left and Dad threw me out," Xerxes pointed out bitterly as he blinked away tears, Hecate looked at him curiously, "You both abandoned me."_

_"What did you do?"_

_"I only had an affair with the Minister's wife," Xerxes admitted and Hecate laughed before it became another violent cough, "I don't see why he was mad at me, I wasn't the one married."_

_"That'll do it," Hecate prompted when it stopped, smiling in amusement, "Hektor always was a controlling, uptight prude, not that he was complaining when he was screwing me out of wedlock. I bet it threw you on your ass, eh? Found it harder without a house of servants I'll bet."_

_"I did okay for myself thank you very much, can't say the same for you," Xerxes snapped and gestured to the dump she lived in, her eyes flicked around before turning back to him without her smile._

_"Fair point," she conceded and paused to start coughing again, he patiently waited for it to pass, "I'm too sick to do anything now though and the guy I left your father for left me."_

_"What did you do?"_

_"I only cheated on him, once or twice," Hecate admitted testily and Xerxes found it was his turn to smile in amusement, "That he knew about anyway."_

_"Well I can see where I get it from."_

_"Wonder if your brother has got it too."_

_"What?" Xerxes wondered in shock as she burst into another fit of coughing, feeling rather like he'd just had cold water thrown on him, "What do you mean brother? You had another child?"_

_"You have a half-brother," Hecate told him, her raspy tone disinterested and her expression looking rather like she regretted saying anything while Xerxes looked around for signs of him, "He isn't here! I left him."_

_"You left him too?" Xerxes stated incredulously while she turned away in shame, he felt his anger returning, "For the love of… I have three kids and another on the way, all by different women and I haven't turned my back on a single one of them. You had two and you couldn't even stick around for one of us."_

_"I had to, okay?" Hecate snapped defensively, "After whatshisname left me, I had nothing and I wound up on the streets because I was too proud to work like a filthy commoner. I had to rely on the kindness of others and this one guy was always really generous with his donation, Linden Florian. He was always good to me and we got to talking, eventually we got to dating and he let me live with him. Nice enough guy, was fine with an open relationship too but he stayed faithful, was too busy with the son his wife had walked out on. All he wanted was more kids so I bore him a son as thanks, called him Pyrrhus because the first magic he did was fire. It was only then that I realized there was something horribly wrong with him?"_

_"What?" Xerxes wondered with an anxious curiosity._

_"He was a half-blood. Linden was a muggle, making Pyrrhus a half-blood," Hecate told him, sounding as if it was a horrible disease, "I'm a pure-blood from an ancient and noble pure-blood family, I couldn't be seen with such an impure child. So I left him, I'm sure Linden took good care of him, he was so happy to have another son. I ran back to Greece with my tail between my legs, my family disowned me anyway out of shame and your father had already remarried, didn't want me back either so I came back to England but stayed away from Linden and Pyrrhus."_

_"You didn't think to see me while you were there?!" Xerxes blurted out angrily._

_"You were away at magic school!" Hecate countered before bursting into another fit of coughing while Xerxes felt another sliver of anger but at a different target, his father and grandparents hadn't mentioned this. He was getting off point though, he had a brother. A brother who had also been abandoned, maybe he would have more in common with this Pyrrhus then with his father's two kids. He wanted to meet him._

_"How old is Pyrrhus?"_

_"I don't know," Hecate shrugged as the coughing fit passed, "Somewhere between ten and the mid-teens. Why?"_

_"Because I want to meet him," Xerxes told her seriously and she burst into another fit of coughing, "Seriously, what is wrong with you!?"_

_"I'm dying," Hecate croaked and he felt another wave of shock crash into him once more, "Its terminal and incurable, its destroying my brain so my mind is dying and so are my basic motor skills so it's hard to do things or even move very well, I also have this cough but my lungs are shot too."_

_"You-You- You're dying?" Xerxes repeated in shock and she scowled._

_"What are you deaf? Dying. Don't be so shocked, I've been dying for a while now and I'm okay with it. It's just a slow and painful process, a shitty end to a shitty life but I did have a few good times," Hecate told him casually while he continued to gape at her, "There's actually something you could do, you know to help me."_

_"What?"_

_"Kill me. It would be kinder and easier than this," Hecate pleaded and Xerxes couldn't deal with that in that moment, his mother, his half-brother, her dying… It was too much and he walked away to try process it, he needed time._

* * *

><p>The smell of blood was much more sickening to his human senses, her face was completely battered as if it had taken a beating and her body riddled all over with more than two dozen knife wounds, holes and cuts and stabs. He also felt extremely disgusted and angry at her attacker, she was eleven years old. She was just a child, people shouldn't hurt children. Her chest was rising and falling though, indicating she still lived and her eyes were open as much as possible with the swelling. He scrambled over to her, having to kneel in the sticky blood. He also found his eyesight wasn't as good in the dark as a human, he picked – presumably – her wand up and lit it up. Her eyes looked strangely white and glazed as if she couldn't see, he cast a counter spell in case and her eyes returned to their usual cloudy gray that widened in surprise.<p>

"Sc-Scorpius?" Martha wondered shakily and he noticed her face was already damp from tears.

"I chased off your attacker, you're going to be okay now," Scorpius assured her gently, wishing Michael was there or that he knew more about healing spells, "I'm going to get you to the Hospital Wing, okay?"

"Okay," Martha agreed weakly, "I don't think I can get up though."

"I'll carry you then," Scorpius offered and made to pick her up, she cried out in pain though and he let her down guiltily, "I'm sorry, does that hurt?"

"Ev-Everything hurts," Martha whimpered as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, "Just do it and quickly like ripping off a Band-Aid."

"Ready?" Scorpius asked and Martha just squeezed her eyes shut as she nodded again, he gritted his teeth and scooped her up even as she screamed in pain. He felt horrible as her already battered face screwed up and she cried quietly as he started moving, slower then he would've liked because he feared dropping her or that jostling would aggravate her wounds more. He decided to try distracting her through conversation, "Do you know who attacked you?"

"Shadows," Martha muttered in answer as her eyes opened as much as possible again, fearfully flickering around in the dark, "Don't know who specifically. They were untrained and incapable of non-verbal magic so not NEWT level, seemed male, seemed a teenager, lanky, I'd guess Third to Fifth Year. Of course they could always have been using Polyjuice, if they did that then it could be anyone from a little First Year girl to the Headmaster."

"Well noticed," Scorpius complimented her observation skills, he wished he'd brought the Map because then he would've been able to quickly check but he didn't like transforming with any items on him.

"I didn't tell him, I didn't tell him anything," Martha admitted quietly as her eyes struggled to stay open, worrying him greatly, "He tortured me but I didn't tell him."

"We're nearly there."

"You should have left me, you should have left me to die," Martha whispered tearfully, "You shouldn't be saving me, I don't deserve it."

"Yes you do, it's not your fault your father was a Shadow," Scorpius assured her gently and her eyes met his weakly, fighting to stay open.

"I need… I need to tell you something."

"You just need to focus on staying awake, stay with me," Scorpius pleaded, not sure if she'd pass out or just die if she fell asleep.

She opened her mouth to speak but her strength finally failed her, her head lolled into the crook of her arm as she lost consciousness. Scorpius picked up the pace now her discomfort wasn't an issue, hoping it wasn't too late as he crossed the final stretch of his journey to the Hospital Wing. The two werewolves were there and seemed as far away from each other as possible, somehow Scorpius suspected this was Michael's doing. Hugo was near the door, smaller then Michael and with bushy fur of a reddish and brown coloring. He was curled up on the bed, sniffing the air as he could probably smell the blood as well. Michael was in the far opposite corner, stretched out as Marigold bandaged his front leg.

"You have _got_ to stop attacking yourself," Marigold was complaining of Michael as he worked.

"Marigold!" Scorpius yelled to get his attention and the Head Healer jolted jumpily in surprise before moving over to him, Michael's mismatched eyes flickering in their direction, "I found her like this, she was attacked. She was conscious when I found her but now I don't know."

"Get her onto a bed," Marigold commanded immediately as he strode over to them briskly while Scorpius laid her down on the bed opposite Hugo, he scanned her quickly before jumping into action, "She's alive. Barely. But I can work with barely, get out of my way!"

Scorpius didn't object and stepped well out of the way near door after putting her bloody wand on the bedside, watching anxiously as Marigold fussed over her with a variety of spell flashes and potions he summoned over to himself. He was only distracted by Maurice and Albus joining him, out of breath nonetheless. The latter's emerald eyes practically bulging out of their sockets when they saw Scorpius, his clothes stained and sticky from Martha's blood.

"Why did you run off like that?! Are you okay?! We found blood!" Albus hissed at him worriedly while Maurice had caught sight of Martha.

"It's not mine, its Martha's," Scorpius explained and Albus seemed to relax slightly, he nodded his head in the First Year's direction, "It was the Shadows, I think she was tortured for information. Do you still think she's guilty, Maurice?"

"Maybe," Maurice said cautiously while Albus gave the girl a sympathetic look, "There must be some reason they're after her. Although considering how injured she is, our assailant is not talented at torture. You can't get information out of the dead, you need to cause as much pain while doing the least harm as possible."

"Just for once in your life can't you just be a human person?!" Albus snapped at him irritably, "A First Year just got mutilated, show some basic human decency and not casually discuss the finer points of torture!"

"I am a human person," Maurice protested, looking somewhat hurt by the accusation that he wasn't.

"Would you have done this to her?" Scorpius questioned worriedly of his friend, "Would you have tortured her like this?"

"Like this?" Maurice repeated, looking indignant, "No, I told you, this technique is very poor and sloppy. I'm much better at it."

"Mate, that is not something to be proud of," Albus commented with a sad shake of his head.


	26. VI: Unexpected Encounters

_**Thanks to:** Colin Creevey and Lucifersdaughter for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_When will the masters identity come out?_**  
><em>You mean Sal's? At some point this book<em>

* * *

><p>In the wake of Martha's attack, things were very tense in Hogwarts. The fact the Aurors were patrolling the grounds very much meant that her attacker was someone within Hogwarts, the Aurors started interrogating students and teachers alike. Scorpius was no exception to this and while he was quite sure Cistro would've loved him to be guilty, the fact he had been the one to get her help and his friends' testimony – they pretended to have been sneaking down to the kitchen for a midnight snack – made her release him as they had no evidence. Weedy Larry gave a speech about how wrong it was to brutally assault eleven year old girls with knives, ensuring them it was – shockingly – a crime and encouraging anyone who knew anything to come forwards.<p>

Martha was alive but Marigold had put her in a magically induced coma for the time being so no one could talk to her about it, she was very weak and needed rest while the blood she'd lost was replenished. Marigold told Scorpius he'd gotten lucky, if he'd been a few minutes later then she would've have died. As it stood, she still wasn't guaranteed survival but she was hanging in there. Scorpius felt bad for her, she could die and the closest thing she'd got to family caring was a get well card to 'Marsha Santana' – they had literally written that in the card – from her foster parents. On the bright side, Scorpius supposed it was good she wasn't conscious because her attacker couldn't come after her again. She'd said she hadn't told him anything so if they wanted the information, they'd have to wait for her to wake up to try again so until then she was safe. And hopefully she'd stay safe, it was only two weeks to the Christmas break so her attacker would likely be gone then since they were likely a student. The Aurors didn't seem to have any luck tracking the attacker down and neither did they.

It wasn't a fun week, Scorpius felt many days in the Hospital visiting her since he was there for Michael anyway. He was especially wiped after this full moon and Marigold wanted to make sure the wounds he'd inflicted upon himself as a werewolf didn't get infected, Scorpius was almost disappointed there wouldn't be a full moon over the holidays because the Malfoy Manor was ideal to spend the full moon together without worrying about Marigold. Classes were standing to wind down as the Christmas decorations went up, it depressed Scorpius to see them because he knew Calderon was not the one putting them up. Rojer alone didn't seem to notice Christmas existed and didn't cut them the slightest bit of slack with work, not that Scorpius really minded because he liked to work. He was looking forward to the break though, he was dying to see how things were with Varanian and the war, talk to Wyatt about his progress and find out how Molly was since she hadn't replied to any of letters. Plus Michael would be staying with him, Scorpius really hoped it would help him take his mind off things.

First though was the last Hogsmeade trip of the term, Scorpius found himself quite disappointed with that. Albus was going with Grozda and some of her Slytherin friends, Abby and Rose were double dating with Sequoia and Corin while Orous and Vern did the same with Lily and Olivia. Even if he went with them he'd still be a fifth wheel, he'd written to Molly to ask her to meet him but she'd not written back as usual. Sometimes he wondered if the only one still invested in their relationship, was she really that busy or had she just stopped caring? Michael also wanted to stay in Hogwarts and after last time, Scorpius was inclined to let him especially after the rough week.

Scorpius supposed it was still a good chance to get his Christmas shopping done, he'd still have Maurice. Maurice was not the best companion for shopping though since you spent a good deal of time walking, you could only really hold a conversation with Maurice when he was stationary so he was in for a very silent trip. Which got even quieter when Maurice told him he'd decided to stay as well, keep Michael company. If Scorpius hadn't already resolved to buy the Christmas presents, he'd have blown it off to stay as well. He couldn't even bring his leather jacket because he knew Cistro was probably going to chuck in the snow like before, he hated the trip before he'd even stepped foot outside.

It was snowing and the ground was already white, he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked very alone to Hogsmeade. Cistro was acting as a guard at the gates of the rundown town again, she did again make him be searched excessively before allowing him through. He was starting to rethink his decision, he'd be there forever if she searched through everything he bought. And he did buy a lot, what was the point in having money if you didn't spend it on the people who mattered to you? Even if none of them had time for him. He also got his baby brother Sol gifts in advance, he got some for Lysel Leebin as well just in case and even something for Maurene to not leave her out. He still found himself feeling rather sad and lonely to be walking around by himself, he was relieved to be done and headed over to the Hog's Head for a nice Butterbeer to warm himself up before the long walk back.

However, he was shocked to walk in the door and literally see a ghost, or at least a man he knew to be dad. Logan Leebin, Leebin's Auror father he'd seen in Rooke's memory. There was no mistaking him, he had the same sharp, striking strange shade of cyan colored eyes. He looked older but his coarse face had been worn and lined with age anyway, he had the same angular features and quite a flat nose. He maintained a robust figure and faded canescent hair hanging around his head, admittedly more gray then in the memory now. His scar from his eyebrow was missing though, Scorpius noticed, or maybe it had just healed? He looked as gruff as in the memory, he sat alone at a table in dark robes with a smoky glass of Firewhisky.

"Erm… H-Hey, excuse me," Scorpius stammered out as he approached the man, he was spared an irritated glance, "Ar-Are you Logan Leebin?"

"No," the man barked in the same rough tone Logan had used, "Now if you don't mind, I'm trying to enjoy my lunch."

"But you-you look_ just _like him."

"Boy, I don't think you were born when Logan was alive," the man complained as he sipped his glass.

"I saw him in a memory," Scorpius admitted and earned himself a glance, the man sighed.

"I'm Hogan Leebin, Logan was my brother. My identical, twin brother hence the similarity," the man explained and Scorpius vaguely recalled hearing Logan had had a brother, he hadn't realized it was a twin though, "That's right, so you can stop looking like you've seen a ghost and close your mouth before a fly goes in."

"I-I'm sorry," Scorpius apologized awkwardly and closed his mouth while an idea started to dawn on him as he remembered Logan's suspicions about Rooke, Potter had written them off as insanity but what if they weren't? Would Hogan know? "I erm… I know your nephew."

"How unfortunate for you," Hogan commented disinterestedly while Scorpius took the seat opposite him as an excuse to put down his bags, "Boy's an idiot."

"I found him quite smart."

"He's an idiot, walks around with his head in the clouds. Failed his OWLs and flunked out of Hogwarts, can't cast a decent spell to save his life."

"Well there's more than just being good at spell work, he's good at other things," Scorpius insisted defensively and Hogan gave a snort of derision.

"Like what? His mumbo jumbo psycho muggle crap? He needs to quit and get himself a _real_ job, maybe then he wouldn't be consistently broke," Hogan told him, his tone as disapproving as his words, "That or do what I told him to do when he was thirteen, do the world a favor and throw himself off the Astronomy Tower."

"You-You actually encouraged your _nephew_ to _kill_ himself?" Scorpius wondered in shock that someone could be so cruel.

"Yep," Hogan confirmed remorselessly as he sipped his drink, "Boy's an idiot. Worthless waste of space, can't do anything right. He doesn't deserve to be alive."

"He's your dead twin brother's son," Scorpius pointed out in disbelief and Hogan's eyes flashed angrily.

"Yeah, he is. And my twin brother wouldn't be dead if it wasn't for Flan."

"Didn't he kill himself?"

"Yes but Flan was there, he could've saved him but he didn't. It's _his_ fault I lost my brother," Hogan snapped darkly and downed the rest of his glass, "Need a refill over here!"

"Wasn't he a child at the time?"

"And?" Hogan scoffed as Aberforth came over to refill his drink, he tossed some coins down, "Leave the bottle and keep the change."

"I'll have a Butterbeer please," Scorpius asked of the Barkeeper as he withdrew his own money, Aberforth took the coins and left the bottle. He went over to grab the Butterbeer for him before going back over to the bar, "Thank you."

"I don't care he was a child, it's not like he had to turn into an animagus. He's pathetic. Told you, boy's an idiot. A worthless, useless idiot, who let my twin brother die."

"That's completely unfair, you can't hold it against him."

"Can, done and have."

"I know him, if he could've saved his Dad then he would have," Scorpius protested defensively, already really hating this guy, "I'm sure he did everything he could, did his best."

"Well his best wasn't good enough, was it?!" Hogan yelled at him furiously, "He let my brother die, my twin brother I'd known since conception. Logan was a good man, a _great_ man and Flan let him die. Worthless brat, will never amount to anything or do anything worthwhile in his whole entire life. Logan did more in his limited lifespan then Flan could do in three, Logan was an Auror. He saved lives, he put bad people away, he helped people."

"Flan helps people in his own way, who are you to criticize him when he's out there doing that while you're sitting in a bar drinking?! What do you do that's so great?!" Scorpius snapped irritably, almost forgetting why he'd started speaking to him in the first place.

"I'm a Healer," Hogan pointed out smugly, "I save _actual_ lives not do mumbo jumbo psycho crap."

"Oh right," Scorpius muttered, he'd completely forgotten hearing that.

"And my wife left me this morning so forgive me for wanting a drink, this makes five ex-wives for me," Hogan continued and raised his glass, "Now who are _you_ to criticize _me_? Some upstart adolescent who starts hassling a guy who was just casually minding his own business because you think you know everything?"

"Look, I just…" Scorpius started to say awkwardly, after all that he thought it would be bad to leave without his original questions answered, "I just wondered if you were close to your brother."

"He was my _twin_, of course I was close to him," Hogan scoffed irritably and Scorpius took a breath.

"Well to cut a long story short, an Auror called Cel Rooke used Legilimency on me and I saw some of his memories. One of which involved your brother and he didn't seem to like Rooke, Harry Potter said it was just part of his insanity but I still wondered if there was any truth to his suspicions and if Rooke could really be a bad guy. So… Do you know anything about it?"

"Yes, I do," Hogan confirmed, looking somewhat intrigued and Scorpius watched him interest as he sipped his Butterbeer but the elder man didn't elaborate.

"Care to share?"

"Why would I tell you?" Hogan demanded as he raised an eyebrow, "I don't think I like you, kid who likes my idiot nephew."

"Well clearly you like the sound of your own voice or you wouldn't still be talking," Scorpius stated testily and Hogan laughed.

"Very true, good comeback," Hogan offered as he leaned back and took a breath of his own, "Okay, so Mr and Mrs Rooke was this wizard and his muggle wife who ran a sweet shop in this small hamlet, they were your regular decent, boring people. Celestine Rooke is their one and only child and shortly after he graduated Hogwarts, they were murdered in their home by the Killing Curse. They weren't robbed so it wasn't for money, they couldn't find anyone with motive to want them dead so they thought they'd been killed by fragments of Death Eaters still in hiding since she was a muggle and by their logic he was a blood traitor."

"Logan didn't think that though?"

"No, he didn't," Hogan confirmed with a shake of the head, "He thought the killer was someone they knew because there wasn't much sign of a struggle, they didn't put up a fight. The bodies had also been treated with respect, the killer had closed their eyes and repositioned their limbs not at whatever angle the body would've landed at. He also thought the son was suspicious, thought something was off about him. He suspected Celestine had secretly resented his parents and murdered them but still felt some degree of remorse, the others thought he was innocent though and just a poor orphan who wanted justice.

"Logan couldn't prove a damn thing but he was sure of it and was determined to nail him when he could get proof, of course no one believed him with proof because they were taken in with the pretty boy and Potter taking him under his wing as his protégé didn't help. It was only after that Logan started seeing things, he thought this evil darkness was stalking him and he thought that Celestine was in league with it. And not just because he was crazily paranoid!" Hogan paused to yell defensively, glaring at Scorpius as if he expected him to argue the point, "Celestine saw the darkness too but pretended not to, taunted him about it. It was his word against Celestine's though and they don't side with the person they think is insane."

"Didn't he go insane though?"

"Did he?" Hogan questioned and leaned forward to lower his voice, "Logan though there was a darkness stalking him, what does that sound like to you?"

"I don't-"

"He finally got suspended for gouging out a man's eyes because he was trying to save him from the darkness because the darkness would go into their eyes," Hogan interjected and Scorpius got chills as he was reminded of something, "What does that sound like to you? What in our present day lives do we know makes someone's eyes go dark? What's another word for darkness? Blackness? Murkiness? Or_ shadows_. I think Logan stumbled into something he shouldn't have and they drove him to suicide to silence him, drove him mad first to make sure no one would believe a single word he said."

"That is… an interesting theory," Scorpius admitted, if he was right then Rooke was definitely the Shadow but on the other hand... there was no way to tell since Logan was the one to see it and Hogan was very clearly biased so could very well be desperately clinging to the belief that his brother's death had more reason, "But how can you be sure?"

"I can't," Hogan grunted irritably, "Got no proof, do I? And thanks to Flan, Logan's not even around to fight his own corner and clear his good name. Damn I hate that boy."

"You know he's an adult now, right? He has a wife and two kids."

"I know," Hogan insisted as he took another swig of his drink, "I just don't care. Thirteen or thirty, he's still a boy. A weak, stupid boy who let my brother die."

"You're an asshole, you know that?" Scorpius complained of him as he sipped his Butterbeer.

"Least I'm honest," Hogan shrugged as he downed the last of his glass before looking rather dejected, "I miss my brother."

* * *

><p><em>Xerxes thought a lot about the conversation with his mother and what she'd asked of him, he did some sleuthing and found out she was telling the truth. About everything. She did have a terminal disease of the mind and would suffer a slow death, she also did have a second son with a muggle. He did have another half-brother. He wanted to meet his brother but first, he really had to deal with his mother. He went to see her again but the next meeting was not so productive, he walked through the door and she stared at him blankly.<em>

_"Do I know you?" Hecate had questioned of him, raising an eyebrow._

_"It's me, Xerxes, your firstborn son," Xerxes insisted and she giggled like a school girl._

_"Don't be silly, I'm not old enough to have an adult. But if you want, we can try make a son if you catch my drift," Hecate offered with a seductive wink, Xerxes walked out on her in disgust while she had a coughing fit behind him, "Wait!"_

_His next two visits didn't go any better, the second time she seemed to think she was a child and the third she seemed to know better but not remember their prior conversation so they had to go through it again then she forgot halfway through. Xerxes decided that he could understand why she wanted to die, he certainly wouldn't want to live like that. But still… She was his mother, a terrible, abysmal mother that he couldn't even be mad at because her mind was going as she slowly died. It was frustrating._

_"Have you come to kill me, Xerxes?" Hecate queried of him curiously at his next visit._

_"So you know who I am?" Xerxes wondered suspiciously._

_"Yes… Why? Have you seen him in between these times when I was not having a good day?"_

_"Err… Yeah," Xerxes admitted and she sighed heavily before coughing as he came over to her, "But I'm not going to kill you."_

_"Oh come on, now you're just being cruel."_

_"Well you were cruel to me!"_

_"I'm sorry," Hecate offered in the most insincere tone, "Well not for leaving but I'm sorry you're such a baby about it."_

_"I hate you," Xerxes spat._

_"Then be a man and kill your mother."_

_"Maybe I will," Xerxes snapped but immediately regretted it, Hecate looked hopeful, "But you wouldn't want to live a little bit longer first? Try to catch up, maybe meet your grandsons."_

_"Why would I want to do that?" Hecate scoffed as if it was the stupidest suggestion she'd ever heard._

_"You're supposed to care about your children!" Xerxes yelled at her furiously, feeling tears pricking his eyes again, "You're supposed to care!"_

_"I do care, I just care about myself more. I told you," Hecate told him unapologetically and Xerxes angrily grabbed the pillow from out beneath her head, "You're going to kill me with a pillow? Why not just a quick Killing Curse?"_

_"If you want me to kill you then I get to kill you whatever way I want so shut up!"_

_"Fine, smother me then," Hecate agreed with a roll of her eyes, she sighed and leaned back. Her faded violet eyes met his and she smiled as her eyes fluttered close, "You're a good son, Xerxes."_

_"Yes, yes I am a good son," Xerxes choked on the words and felt his voice cracking as he pushed the pillow over her face, "And you and Dad never appreciated it. I'm the best."_

_He'd never killed someone before, he knew the Soul Eaters did which was exactly why he didn't want to use the Killing Curse they frequented. It was his mother, it was more personal. He held in place and she didn't fight back, she didn't struggle at all. She just let death take her, he didn't know how long he held the pillow there or how long was necessary to kill. He was lost in thought, thinking of the pitifully few memories he had of his mother and even more memories without her, that she should have been there for but wasn't because she didn't care. When he moved the pillow away, she was dead. _

_He'd killed his own mother like she'd wanted because he was a good son and he hoped she was in hell for not appreciating that, he hoped his father would join her. How dare they not appreciate him or recognize his brilliance, he was such a great person. If they didn't care then it was their loss because he was a far better person then they were. He wiped his eyes and put the pillow back, letting Hecate's lifeless head lay back down on it and tucking her in with the threadbare blanket, the way better mothers then her did to their children. She almost looked like she was sleeping, except she drew no breath and the world seemed suddenly so silent. Slowly and sadly, Xerxes turned and walked away like she had done to him. He hoped have better luck with his half-brother, Pyrrhus Florian._

* * *

><p>Scorpius had a lot to think about unexpectedly from his chance encounter with Hogan Leebin, he didn't even mind Cistro's extensive search of things because he was so lost in thought. Rooke was high-ranking in the Auror department, if he was a Shadow then he may very well be a high-ranking one, maybe even the third of the Shadow Master's Lieutenants. But on the other hand, the half-drunk vehement ramblings of a man dedicated to his insane, suicidal brother were not the most reliable sources of information.<p>

"Hey," an unfamiliar voice barked at him as he neared the exit to Hogsmeade, Scorpius jumped in surprise and turned expecting to see a disguised Varanian but he didn't. Instead he saw Lenore's uncle, the former Death Eater John Avery. He had a strange scar down his face now though and looked more tired and gaunt then the last time Scorpius had seen him, did he have a twin too? "You're Michael Sanford's friend, right?"

"Err… Yeah," Scorpius admitted, feeling rather suspicious and letting one hand drift inconspicuously to his wand, "What's it to you?"

"Where is he? I need to find him."

"Tell me why."

"Tell me where he is first," John countered and Scorpius sighed in frustration.

"Good luck finding him without me," Scorpius offered and turned on his heel, hoping this would actually work.

"I just need to give me a message, okay?"

"A message?" Scorpius repeated dubiously as he turned back to him, "Why is a former Death Eater of the infamous Avery family trying to give my muggle-born friend a message?"

"Are you going to tell me where he is or not?" John asked irritably, "If you want to play the game then you have to take your turn as well."

"He's in Hogwarts, he doesn't like Hogsmeade and he didn't want to come," Scorpius told him truthfully and John muttered a curse before whipping out his own wand along with an envelope, he waved his wand over it, "So wh-"

"Fine then, give this to him," John interrupted and shoved the small envelope to him, "It's a note from his mother, just pass it along. And don't bother trying to be nosy because I just charmed it, to read the contents he must tap it with his wand and say his grandfather's name."

Scorpius opened his mouth to say something more but the former Death Eater disapparated without another word, he scowled at the blank paper and fiercely wished he knew Michael's grandfather's name. Now he had two strange occurrences to think about, why was John Avery delivering letters for a muggle and was Cel Rooke a Shadow.


	27. VI: Going Home

_**Thanks to:** percyjackson42, Jizzle04, Colin Creevey and Cal for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_Will we be able to see the letter? _**  
><em>No but its contents are mentioned<em>

**_Will Michael really visit Scorpius for Christmas or will he blow it off again?_**  
><em>He really will<em> _be going this time_

* * *

><p>Celestine Rooke felt extremely frustrated. Of all the things he did for the Soul Eater, there was one task at the top of the list that Sal wanted done. A very simple task, locate her brother. Not even plan, execute or worry about an escape plan but just locate him because you needed that core thing done before you could build on it. But so far he had failed and it was driving him crazy. It wasn't like Florian or Varanian who were actively trying to hide and good at it – he had people looking for them anyway – which he could accept but her brother? Calderon was in <em>their <em>custody, he was _their_ prisoner. He should know this, he should be able to find this out but Harry was staying frustratingly silent. Even to poor Ron who just felt like his best friend in the world no longer trusted him and was buddying up with the Minister, Ron was far easier to get secrets out of then Harry.

He'd tried everything, only a handful of people were allowed to guard and none of them – even under the influence of Vertiaserum unbeknownst to them – knew the location even. Harry brought them there personally and the enchantments on the place dispelled the Tracking Charms he'd attempted, since he apparated he couldn't have Specters following them and Harry used the Patronus Charm on them before leaving to make sure he couldn't sneak one in. He had already searched all the safe houses the Aurors used and every damn property registered to every Auror, everyone in Harry's family and the Minister himself. All nothing. It was either a muggle dwelling – which made it much harder to track down – or some random abandoned building – who even kept track of how many abandoned properties there were in England? – or the property of a relative of an Auror, there were a lot of Aurors to begin with and even more relatives of Aurors to go through.

Celestine was extremely frustrated and immensely upset with himself, Sal was doing so well – of course she was, she was so brilliant – in her conquest of the rest of the world and here he was failing one simple task. He couldn't even say he'd had any luck with Florian, Varanian, Gray or whoever was trying to kill the Scamanders and Scorpius. Well, Martha Seneca was a suspect but his operative hadn't gotten any confirmation or proof before assaulting her and being Xerxes' child didn't equal guilt, she'd been put to sleep for her recovery so there was no chance of asking her at the present time. It could very well be her but Celestine wanted to be sure, he also wanted to know why.

He sighed heavily and tried to push it out of his mind slightly as he returned home, it was the middle of the day and he had arranged to meet with some of his underlings. He liked using his home because he knew it was secure, with Varanian and Gray crawling about he could never be too careful. It was supposed to be empty though, his wife at her work as a Healer and their worthless spawn at the Burrow being babysat by Molly and Arthur Weasley. He swore he could hear his wife's voice though, he scowled in confusion and started scaling their staircase where the voice only got louder. It seemed to be coming from their bedroom, he crept down the very neat home they had and pushed it open.

"Yes, Vale, yes! That's a good boy, that's my wonderful little angel," his wife was saying to their son as he opened the door.

Gabrielle Delacour was his wife, Fleur's sister thus connecting him and further ingraining him in the Potter/Weasley clan. She had the beauty being part Veela provided, dazzling blue eyes and lustrous silvery blond hair that she currently was styling curled. Compared to Sal though, she was as appealing as a pile of rotting garbage but he'd still married her for his cover just like Sal wanted. Their son, Valerian or "Vale" had recently turned two and Celestine despised him with a passion, even more then Gabrielle. He didn't know why people didn't see a monster when they looked at him, he was a vile, deformed, monstrous freak of nature all hidden in the guise of a beautiful blond child. They were sitting on the bed with some toy blocks, Vale on her lap as she was seemingly trying to encourage him to play with them and was succeeding. Somewhat. At least he was holding one and turning it over in his disgusting hands, the weak smile on his face died at his entrance though.

"Oh hi, sweetie, I didn't think you'd be home so early," Gabrielle commented in surprise as she saw him, he also noticed she looked like she'd been crying. Vale froze and his eyes focused on him, unbeknownst to Gabrielle.

"I could say the same for you," Celestine offered and faked a nervous smile as he approached, giving her the customary kiss in greeting like a good husband, "What are you doing back? And Vale too?"

"I don't know," Gabrielle admitted with a sigh and cuddled their son closer, Vale only had eyes for him though even as she stroked his hair, "I was just treating this werewolf boy almost Vale's age today, the full moon destroys his poor little body despite all the potions we're pumping into him to make sure he survives it. He's so weak and goes through excruciating pain, even after his body aches and of course half the people have it out for him. But…"

"But what?"

"But he's still so happy, he smiles weakly and tries to laugh, finds amusement in things despite how bad he has it," Gabrielle explained and kissed the top of Vale's head as her words seemed to catch in her throat, he wished she'd hurry up because Selwyn would be there any second to speak to him, "It made me think of Vale and how miserable he is despite having everything, I just wanted to spend some time with him. I mean, what kind of mother am I that my toddler is so unhappy while this tortured soul can still laugh? I want to hear our boy laugh, be happy like regular carefree toddlers. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, Cel, I don't know why I'm failing so badly."

"You can't blame yourself," Celestine assured her gently and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly like a good husband, "You're a wonderful mother and you do your best, whatever the reason he is for… being how he is, it's not your fault. You're the only thing keeping him going."

"Really?" Gabrielle wondered and turned to him tearfully while Vale finally glanced at his mother, he reached out his small hand to cautiously grasp hers. He was afraid to hold things because Celestine had condition him by snatching things away or making them give him a shock, he shouldn't be touching things.

"Really," Celestine assured her with a comfortingly smile that he didn't feel, he needed to get her to leave, "Why don't you take him to the park? I'd come too but I only came in to pick something up."

"It's freezing outside."

"So play in the snow, kids love snow."

"Nah, I think we're good here," Gabrielle brushed it off and he cursed mentally, trying to think…

Maybe he didn't have to get her to leave, he knew she and Vale were in here so he could just avoid them and tell Selwyn to leave to meet somewhere else when he showed up. Yes, that could work. He just needed to get downstairs.

"Alrighty, why don't I make you a cuppa before I leave then? And some tasteful juice for the young mister."

"That'd be nice, you're the best," Gabrielle said with a smile and Celestine turned, happily thinking his issue was solved. How wrong he was.

"Gee, boss, I was looking for you all over," Selwyn complained with a grunt as he strode in, Gabrielle's jaw dropped. Selwyn was a known Death Eater turned Soul Eater, he had killed Percy Weasley, "She in on this meeting too?"

"Get out!" Celestine hissed at him and Selwyn's expression twisted to surprise before he vanished into the Specters and turned back to his wife, Gabrielle's face had drained of all color and she was looking at him like she'd never seen him before.

"Pl-Please tell me you're working undercover," Gabrielle asked in a whisper and for a second he seriously considered it but the words died in this throat, he smiled to himself. This was a hassle but dammit, how often would he get this opportunity?

"No. But that's the lie I told your sister before I murdered her," Celestine confirmed and she put a horrified hand over her mouth, tears leaking from her eyes and he smirked, "What? Didn't you realize I killed your sister? If it makes you feel better, I had nothing against her but saw something she shouldn't and I had to silence her. Permanent-"

Gabrielle started moving before he'd finished the sentence, apparently catching his drift and lunging to grab her wand off the bedside table. It was too far and she was too slow, his wand was in his hand with the practiced speed few but Aurors could boast of and a non-verbal Imperius Curse already striking her. Calmly she put the wand down and stood up, going to retrieve some parchment, ink and a quill. He'd have to cover up her death somehow.

"Why are you doing this, Cel?" Gabrielle asked of him as she started scratching away at the parchment, fighting against the curse but he was stronger and he only allowed her use of her mouth, "How could you turn to their side? How could you kill my sister?"

"I was always on their side," Celestine scoffed and let her tears fall onto the ink, smudging it and making it seem more genuine, "It was all a lie, all an act because my Master wanted me to gain Harry's trust and get in close with him."

"You're sick. You need help."

"No, I'm afraid you are and you're not going to get it," Celestine smirked and made Gabrielle go retrieve a belt from their closet, she struggled again but he was still stronger.

"Are you really going to kill me, Cel?" Gabrielle asked fearfully as she dragged a chair from her dressing table over, standing on it as she wrapped the belt around her neck and hung it from the ceiling fan, "I'm your wife."

"You were just a way to strengthen that connection, I _never _loved you, I only ever loved my Master," Celestine told her truthfully, how long he had wanted to say those words and clear the air. She didn't look she was listening though, her crying eyes had focused on something else.

"You're not going to hurt Vale are you?" Gabrielle wondered in the lightest of whispers, as if she was afraid to ask. He glanced back, Vale was still sitting on the bed watching the situation unfold although he was too young to comprehend he was watching his mother die. Good, Celestine wanted him to watch, "He's your son too, you wouldn't k-kill your own child?"

"I'm not going to kill him," Celestine assured her with a smile as he made her kick the chair out from under her so the belt started hanging her, "Yet."

She struggled them, taking him off guard and shattering the Imperius Curse. Too bad it was too late. She clawed desperately at the belt, trying to untie it to free herself so she could protect Vale. It was no use though, her own hanging weight prevented her from being able to unbuckle it or pull it off the fan and she couldn't rip through leather. Her struggling grew weaker as her face grew bluer and then she was just hanging there, her eyes staring sightlessly at her child as her silvery blond hair fell around her face. Vale looked horrified now, he may not understand what had happened yet but he clearly thought it seemed unpleasant. For a second Celestine seriously considered doing it, ending the mutated freak's life but instead just zapped him with the Cruciatus Curse. He'd have plenty of time to kill it later, for now he had a grieving husband to pretend to be.

"Do you know what just happened?" Celestine questioned of his screaming son as he dropped the curse, Vale lay there trembling with a look of absolute terror on his tear-stained face. He shook his head, "After your Mummy brought you home, she did all this by herself. I wasn't here and when I came back, I found her like this and you were just sitting there playing with blocks while your Mummy killed herself because of her guilt over you like the heartless little bastard you are. I'm always watching you, Vale, and if you tell anyone the truth then I will hurt you like this again and I will kill whoever you tell. Do you understand?"

"What is kill?" Vale asked in a quiet, quivering tone and Celestine pointed to Gabrielle's body.

"That is kill. It's when your mind is gone and your body is all that is left, without your mind your body is like an empty shell like if a snail left its back behind. Your Mummy is never going to speak to you again, never play with you, never going to try squeeze a smile out of you, never kiss you goodnight and tell you she loves you. No one will ever love you," Celestine explained and fresh tears rolled down the freak's face, Gabrielle should have just taken him out to play in the snow when she had the chance, "And never lasts forever."

* * *

><p>"It's a letter from Crystal," Michael told him disinterestedly as he read the letter that John Avery had given to him, he was laying on his bed in their dormitory, "She wants me meet her next week when I'm out of Hogwarts for the holidays so she can fill me and maybe we can have Christmas together, just instructions."<p>

"Does it say why John Avery is delivering it?" Scorpius questioned curiously but Michael shook his head, still looking bored, "You don't seem very pleased to hear from her."

"Is it weird that I'm mad at her?" Michael asked of him, sparing him a glance as he put down the letter and seeming to genuinely want an answer, "I'm told my family die in a fire, I'm worried sick and all my mother can do is send me two short messages?"

"Least she did something," Albus offered with a shrug.

"Mother's suck," a young girl's voice stated and all three jumped as Cassia walked casually into their dormitory, "I _told _you."

"Cassia, you can't be in here!" Albus hissed at her and the girl threw him a steely glare, looking rather like her father, "It's a _boy's_ dormitory!"

"So?"

"So… What if we were naked or something?!"

"So be naked, I don't care," Cassia insisted, throwing up her arms in exasperation and still looking angry as she started pacing.

"Did you want something?" Scorpius asked of her, sensing something was up and she turned on him angrily.

"I want Skye to die!"

"Harsh much?" Albus prompted and Cassia kicked some bag Reuben Tear had left on the ground.

"After all these years of not giving a fuck about us, she is ruining our Christmas by wanting us to stay with her! How dare she?!" Cassia explained as she continued pacing, still enraged and muttering a string of curses against her much like Professor Ashain.

"Wow, I haven't heard that curse before."

"Maybe your mother feels guilty for leaving but loves you and wants to be part of your life, it's a good thing not bad," Scorpius offered awkwardly and some ornament on Reuben's bedside exploded.

"Well Skye can go shove her guilt up her-"

"Whoa, whoa, you cannot say that about your mother," Albus interjected Cassia's angry sentence, the girl folded her arms crossly.

"That's what Daddy said. That's why I ran off, he tried to say it was a good thing too."

"Well, sorry kid but mothers are mothers."

"Mothers aren't mothers if they walk away from their family," Cassia spat darkly and glared at them again, "You people are supposed to be on my side! You're supposed to be my friends! Why are you siding with Skye?! Are you her friends?! Did you even met her?! Because if you did then you would see what a heartless bitch she is!"

"Cassi-" Albus started to say but she stormed off angrily with a snow globe on Reuben's bedside also exploding, he looked worriedly after her, "I pity Ashain, if she's like this now then she's going to be a nightmare as a teenager."

"If she lives to be a teenager," Michael pointed out and they both threw him concerned looks, "What?"

"That's pretty dark, man, and around Christmas too."

"What are you going to do?" Scorpius asked of Michael, the conversation reverting back to prior Cassia's interruption, "For Christmas I mean. You're still… I mean..."

"I'm still going to yours," Michael agreed with a hesitant sigh, "I don't see why I can't go to yours and find out what's going on with my family."

The final week of Hogwarts rolled in after that, lessons lax and snowball fights abundant outside. The Christmas spirit was rather dampened though, the fear of a psycho going around with a knife – obviously no one knew why Martha had been targeted – lingered in the air, Martha herself remained unconscious, Rose and Albus' Aunt Gabrielle committed suicide - making him stay silent on his Rooke suspicions and conversation with Hogan since Gabrielle had been his wife, it seemed a bad time to bring it up with them - and the Shadows moved on to their next target: Cyprus. It was a small island country, Scorpius didn't think it would last long. The final day came and the last class for Scorpius was Alchemy with Rojer, who alone didn't seem to be going easy on them for Christmas.

"If you want to learn Alchemy then learn Alchemy, if you want to go to Christmas then go to Christmas," Rojer told them when someone complained, "Every lesson of these counts."

"You could at least do something fun?" Elm grumbled under his breath.

"Alchemy is not fun for you?" Rojer wondered, Scorpius wasn't sure whether he was seriously surprised or just being sarcastic, "Huh, well this is too bad for you."

"Are you going to give us back the marks for any of our essays?" Etta Hayes questioned.

"No, I do not mark them," Rojer stated with a shake of his head, "Anyway, today we will get started on what it is that you learn after your Christmas. You are getting the hang of the basic practical Alchemy but there is more, not only is what you are make important but sometimes can do different things dependent on how it is you guide this. This is very much important, especially in the more advanced Alchemy. Not only is the process you have to do but the application is more difficult as well, you can often not even see what is it that you are directing so it is also very important to get this right."

Rojer went on to start explaining to them the process, it was a bit like needing to know wand movements except you weren't casting a spell and it was much more complex movements as well as sometimes needing to guide it. It was completely nonverbal and required a lot of focus, he demonstrated by using the metallic liquid – that Scorpius was sure was the stuff he'd used on him twice before – and simply guiding it into different shapes, patterns and directions to show them. It looked easy enough and Rojer said it was the easiest way, it proved to me much more difficult though. Half of them struggled to move it at all and the other half lost control of it completely, even dedicating the rest of the lesson to it showed little improvement. Scorpius found it rather like trying to juggle with invisible balls that were also weightless, it wasn't easy. Scorpius still hung back after class, wanting to say goodbye to Rojer.

"There is nothing here to help me clean up," Rojer pointed out quite truthfully as he managed to recall all of the potion masterfully while still sitting at his desk, working on some potion as he had been while they were working, "And you do not have to do that either."

"I just wanted to wish you a happy Christmas," Scorpius said, "Doing anything special?"

"Visiting Rayan while he is in the hospital."

"How is he doing?"

"Better I think. He is waking now at the least," Rojer told him as he continued peeling the skin off some exotic fruit, "I do not read good in English and his wife writes all small and joined up, is hard to read so I will know better when I see him."

"Well give him my best and have a good break," Scorpius offered and turned to leave.

"What did you think of that class?" Rojer queried of him, making him turn back although Rojer was still focused on carving away the fruit skin, "Is important if you want to learn about the soul."

"It is?"

"Yes, the soul is not something you can reach out and grab with your physical hands. The mind is the link between the soul and the body and magic is part of the soul, is much more mental and magical to effect the soul. And it will be more harder to do then this."

"Good to know," Scorpius mused thoughtfully as Rojer tossed the skin into the cauldron, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now go on to your holiday and try not to get murdered, buh-bye."

Scorpius spent the rest of the day packing mostly, Michael helping Albus with his and doing his own which Scorpius was glad to see. He was looking forward to Michael being there, both because he thought it would be good for him and because he realized it was his first name having a friend over. Unless he counted Molly but she was his girlfriend, it was slightly different. For once in his life, Scorpius found himself feeling uncomfortable around the Thestrals since he'd been one for a while when he lost his mind and left abruptly. He felt it might be somewhat awkward and he was sure they remembered him, they weren't stupid. Albus actually sat with him that time since Grozda was staying, she would be leaving for holidays but since her father was a professor they would leave later. The train trip was much better than it had been going and finally he was saying goodbye to his friends – except Michael – on the platform.

"Bye, have a great Christmas," Abby offered as she hugged them in turn and went to leave with Sequoia who seemed to have retrieved her things.

"What? Why are you leaving with him?" Albus questioned of her in confusion.

"Because I'm spending Christmas with him."

"WHAT!?" Albus burst out incredulously and Abby shrugged disinterestedly, her expression very set, "You're staying with- Does your mother know?!"

"Already said goodbye to her when you were getting your trunk. Have a nice Christmas," Abby reiterated before leaving, probably wise considering Albus looked ready to collapse from shock.

"Scorpius!" his father's voice called and Scorpius turned as his father approached with a welcoming smile, Michael shifted nervously and his father lost his smile but he did speak civilly, "And friend of Scorpius who will be staying with us, we hope you enjoy your stay."

"Father, this is my friend, Michael Sanford," Scorpius introduced him and his father warily offered his hand which Michael warily took, "Michael, this is my father, Draco Malfoy."

"And I'm Albus," Albus offered as their hands shot apart, sadly Scorpius realized it was more contact then he'd get from his father, "And I'm going. Home. With my family. Like you should at Christmas. Not some random stuck up guy with the sense of humor and personality of a plank of wood!"

"You do that," his father commented disinterestedly as Albus trudged off to his mother and sister who was kissing Orous goodbye, dragging his trunk behind him while Scorpius looked around for his mother, "Astoria is waiting at home, we're babysitting Myriam's kids. Have you got all your stuff?"

"Yes, Father," Scorpius confirmed and Michael also nodded.

"Then I guess we should go."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Okay and we are in to the Christmas vacation, I consider the winter break the halfway point so we're there and this is when I flesh out the plan for the next book. I have someone in mind for flashbacks next book but feel free to suggest who you'd like to see anyway, I usually ask around this time and I do take on board who people are interested in as well as relevance_


	28. VI: Children

_**Thanks to:** Guest, percyjackson42 and Colin Creevey for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_Why Cyprus?_**  
><em>Its a small island country in the middle of land they control, she just wants it out of the way since they intend to take the whole world<em>

**_Any chance we see a bit of how the Ashains treat Skye?_**  
><em>Yep, a bit this chapter in fact<em>

* * *

><p>Atticus Ashain sighed heavily as he finished packing Cassia's bags for while she'd been staying with Skye, she was really fighting him on this. He supposed this had been what it was like for Skye, she claimed Cassia had been incredibly difficult while they were separated. He hoped she'd calm down during the actual break, it was going to be impossible to build back up the relationship with their mother again if Cassia was like this. He thought maybe when Cassia saw Skye, she might calm down, when she saw her mother wasn't leaving her again.<p>

Kids needed their mothers, they were the important parent. Fathers were useless. He knew they'd be happier if Skye was back in their lives, she was a better parent then he was and if she wanted custody again then they'd be even better off because they could go to a muggle school again and have friends. Friends their own age, not teenagers or animals. It was healthier. He still found himself feeling rather dejected though at the thought of not spending Christmas with his children, Skye had been clear about not wanting him there. She was with Carl from her work Carl now, who incidentally he'd learned spelled his name with a 'C'.

He supposed he could've pushed to share them for the holiday but he'd been afraid that rocking the boat even slightly would have her jump out completely, his children having their mother in their lives was more important than his own wishes. He'd have their pets as company though… Not that that made him feel any better, Calderon wouldn't be there either because he was still imprisoned. Atticus missed him now that he was gone, son of Voldemort or not he _knew_ he wasn't the Shadow Master. He didn't deserve this and Atticus felt guilty that he couldn't do anything for him. He zipped up the case and carried it back out to the living area of his quarters, Antonius was already there – he'd helped his son pack first - and was rubbing his dog's belly. Christmas was going to be fun.

"You ready to go?" Atticus asked of his son with somewhat forced enthusiasm and Antonius nodded nervously as he glanced at him, he patted him on the shoulder and smiled, "It'll be okay."

"It's just been a long time," Antonius pointed out quietly, "Two and a half years is a long time, Dad. What if I blow it and she leaves forever this time?"

"Antonius, she's your _mother_," Atticus insisted as he sat down beside his child, putting his arm around him, "Nothing is as strong as the bond mothers have with their children, that love is how Harry Potter defeated Voldemort. There is nothing you can do to 'blow' it with your own mother."

"Really?" Antonius questioned fearfully, looking on the verge of tears, "B-Because she left before."

"That wasn't because of anything _you_ did," Atticus assured him and pulled his child into a hug, Antonius clung to him tightly, "That was because of something _I_ did and I'm not even going to be there so there's no chance of that happening again."

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too but it's only for a few weeks and you'll have your Mum. And Cassia," Atticus offered gently and rubbed Antonius' back soothingly, "It'll be fine."

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you too," Atticus assured him and kissed Antonius' head as he pulled away, giving him a reassuring smile that Antonius returned it weakly and wiped his eyes quickly, "Now come on, let's go find your sister."

He carried his children's bags out of their quarters, through his office and down into the classroom. He was pleased and relieved to see Cassia was returning with her pet vulture perched on her shoulder, she paused when she saw the bags though.

"I'm not going," Cassia insisted stubbornly.

"Yes you are," Atticus countered firmly, "Your mother wants to see you at Christmas so you're going to go."

"SKYE IS NOT MY MOTHER!" Cassia screamed at him furiously and her bags caught fire, he whipped out his wand to put them out, "SHE LEFT! IF SHE DIDN'T WANT TO BE ALONE ON CHRISTMAS THEN SHE SHOULDN'T HAVE ABANDONED HER FAMILY LIKE AN EVIL HEARTLESS BITCH!"

"Cassia, don't you speak about your mother like that!"

"WOULD YOU RATHER I HAVE AVARIS TEAR OUT HER EYES!? BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I'M GOING TO DO IF I SEE HER!"

"You're going to go and you're going to behave!" Atticus insisted, trying not to feel somewhat disturbed, "I know you love her deep down, you need to think about that."

"I HATE HER! I HATE HER! I _HATE_ HER!" Cassia screamed as she turned on her heel, "AND I'M NOT GOING!"

"Yes you are!" Atticus yelled determinedly and started to head after her but she cawed, the bird flew at him. It didn't attack him, it just got in the way and by the time he batted it aside she had run off. He sighed heavily as he put down Cassia's bags, "Okay, we'll be late if we wait anymore. I'll drop you off and come back for Cassia, give her some time to cool down. Sound good?"

"Okay," Antonius agreed as he hugged his dog goodbye, "See you soon, Hope."

Atticus patted his son on the back and they headed off, they needed to walk to Hogsmeade so he could apparate them. It wasn't a pleasant walk, the air was icy and the snow all slushy but he managed to get some conversation out of Antonius without Cassia there to but in. Once there, he apparated Antonius to the street he'd once called home. The snow wasn't as thick there, he noticed as he led Antonius over to the door and nervously rapped on it.

Skye opened it a second later, she was still looking beautiful even dressed casually in a thick pale blue sweater with a glittery snowflake on it and jeans. She was slender, her straw-colored hair was identical to Cassia's natural was, except not a tangled mess. Her sea-green eyes were unique to her though, her long lashes made them stand out all the more. He missed not seeing those eyes when he woke up, he missed her and the feelings of loss, hurt and anger at his own stupidity for ruining their relationship welled in his gut.

As usual when he saw her, he had to resist the urge to not break down crying and begging for forgiveness, he didn't want to be alone. He'd do anything to make it right, anything she wanted. He just wanted for them to be together, to be a family again. He still loved her, she still had two children who loved her. Even if Cassia wouldn't admit it. Didn't she know that? Didn't she care? How could she be with someone else?! If Brutus was there, he'd tell him he was being pathetic… And he'd be right. Atticus was pathetic. No wonder Skye left him.

"Hey," Atticus said instead of any of that, realizing there was a void of silence where Antonius and Skye were just staring at each other. Skye glanced back to him.

"Are those Tony's things?" Skye wondered and he nodded, she took the bags from him.

"Antonius," Antonius corrected her barely audibly.

"Where um… Where's Cassia?"

"She… wasn't ready," Atticus said slowly, "I'll drop her by later."

"She didn't want to come, did she?"

"What? Of course she did, she's so… eager to erm… to see you that she…" Atticus started to lie but Skye's expression told him she wasn't believing a single word, "Maybe it wasn't her favorite thing in the world but she'll be fine when she gets here."

"Don't bother," Skye sighed, "You can't force Cassia to do anything, she's impossible. If she doesn't want to come then she doesn't have to, you can have her for Christmas and I'll have Tony. If Cassia's not ready then she's not ready, it can wait."

"Antonius," Antonius corrected her quietly once more.

"Actually, he prefers Antonius now," Atticus informed her and Antonius gave him a grateful look, Skye's gaze slid to her son for a sad second before turning back to him, "And alright, if she changes her mind then I'll tell you."

"She won't," Skye stated with certainty, "I know my own daughter."

"Of course you do," Atticus nodded, in fact she probably knew them better then him. He turned back to Antonius and hugged his son goodbye, "Have a good Christmas."

"You too, Dad," Antonius offered as they pulled apart and Skye let him into the house, "Bye."

"Bye."

"Merry Christmas, Atticus," Skye said as she closed the door on him.

* * *

><p>"So this is the Malfoy Manor," his father said conversationally to Michael when they arrived there, Michael's jaw dropped as they approached it with the Malfoy patriarch leading the way.<p>

"What?" Scorpius wondered of his friend, Michael was gaping as it glanced at him, "You knew I lived in a mansion and came from money."

"I still didn't think it was… this much!" Michael offered and gestured wildly to his home before shaking his head, "You could fit my old home in here only like a million times over. My family's always been poor, if Aaron's place looked a little nicer on the outside then that would be like a mansion to me. And your home is even bigger."

"Well it's not as big as the Ashain mansion was," Scorpius pointed out defensively, feeling uncomfortable about his family's wealth again, "Before it exploded and all."

"Well there's no danger of the Malfoy Manor exploding, everything is of the highest quality," his father told them proudly as he seemingly believed the Ashain mansion had been of inferior quality and that was somehow responsible, he led them inside again and Michael's jaw dropped again, "See?"

"How are we friends again?" Michael queried of him.

"Why don't I give you a tour and show you where you'll be sleeping? The house-elves will see to your bags, Scorpius go say hello to your Mother."

"Okay," Scorpius muttered in agreement while his father walked off with Michael, who looked very out of place with the well-dressed pure-blood.

Scorpius left the bags for the house-elves and headed off to the parlor where his mother would likely be, he was distracted though by two small figures giggling and tearing their way across the corridor. They were holding hands, Sol leading Lysel who seemed to struggle to run before he tugged Sol and dove under a side table with an expensive vase on it. It also had a convenient table cloth to hide them.

Scorpius went over to them and crouched, lifting up the sheet to see the two almost two year olds – their birthday was in two days – sitting with faces smeared with chocolate. Their tiny hands were pulling mashed lumps of what looked like it might've once been chocolate cake out of their pockets, shoving it into their mouths instead. They looked so opposite, Sol's hair was as fair as Lysel's was dark, Sol's face as full as Lysel's was gaunt, Sol was bigger while Lysel was little and he had gleaming golden eyes weighed down by dark bags. Both were smiling though, Sol cried out excitedly when he saw him but the words were indistinguishable due to the fact his mouth was full of cake. Lysel simply put a finger to his lips and shushed Scorpius, he reached out and Scorpius held out his hand curiously where Lysel deposited a lump of chocolate before shushing him again.

"Scorpius, what are you doing?" his grandmother's voice questioned and Scorpius jumped in surprise, hitting his head on the table which had the toddlers giggle before he moved away and stood to face her.

"Being bribed to silence by a baby, I think," Scorpius admitted, glancing distastefully at the brown lump on his hand.

"Oh, right," his grandmother nodded uncertainly before dropping the conversation to go over and give him a hug.

"Sol! Lysel! Get back here!" his mother's voice yelled and they pulled away to see her stalking into the corridor, she smiled when she spotted them though and gave Scorpius a hug, "Oh Scorpius, it's so good to see you, sweetheart. Where's your friend?"

"Father's showing him around," Scorpius informed her.

"Okay. I'm really sorry, we will talk but right now I really have to find your cake-stealing brother and Lysel, it's time for some of his potions," his mother explained apologetically and Scorpius jerked his thumb at the side table they were hiding her, nodding his head in the direction as well. His mother mouthed thank you as she went over, pulling up the cloth to reveal the two who were now licking chocolate off their fingers but froze as they were discovered, "There you are! And what happened to that cake?!"

"Trolls," Lysel lied immediately as his mother pulled him out, Sol also crawling out and standing while his mother sat the werewolf down on the table.

"Trolls?" his grandmother repeated dubiously while his mother took out a vial of blue potion, Scorpius noticed Lysel wink at Sol.

"Big trolls," Sol added as his mother uncorked the bottle.

"Then why is there cake on your faces?" his mother queried with a raised eyebrow, "That was supposed to be for your birthday.

"Whened the trolls comed for the cake, Sol says 'no! That was spuposted to be for the burtday!' and Sol hitted the trolls and the trolls was angry so the trolls hitted the cake with the club," Lysel explained and mimed swinging a club, "And the cake go all over Sol and me's mouthers and we runned and hided under the table and the trolls can't get us."

"Is that so?" his mother wondered, looking rather amused as she gave Lysel the vial, he cringed as he drank it.

"Yes," Sol agreed, nodded vigorously, "Bad trolls."

"Sol and me was the good guys, the trolls was the bad and yell at them not Sol and me," Lysel told her innocently when he'd finished the vial, he flashed them a hopeful chocolatey smile, "The hair on you is prettiful today, Mrs Malfoy."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," his grandmother complained but laughed, shaking her head regardless, "It's almost a shame that kid will die, he'd be quite the charmer if he grew up."

"Come on, let's go find these trolls and get you cleaned up," his mother decided, her amusement fading as his grandmother walked off. She let Lysel down, he high-fived Sol triumphantly and the pair giggled at having gotten away with stealing cake, "Scorpius, can you hold your brother's hand?"

Scorpius went with his mother and Sol, she ended up carrying Lysel because he walked so slowly on shaking legs. He wasn't sure if Lysel was just smarter then Sol or just more articulate in his speech but Sol wasn't as good at holding conversations and Scorpius could only understand half of what he tried to say, they were both cheerful though despite Lysel seeming weak. His father and Michael returned just after they'd finished cleaning the chocolate off them, dinner was just after that and was mostly spent with his parents asking him about how his year was going except this time Michael also had questions thrown at him. Scorpius only managed to finally retreat upstairs with Michael after, he almost regretted it though as Myriam came to pick up her kids. He thought it might be healthy for Michael to talk to another werewolf, one who wasn't a bitter, miserable drunk or a toddler.

"So what do you think?" Scorpius asked of his friend as he led him into his room.

"I think I'm going to get lost a lot," Michael admitted as he sat on the bed, glancing around, "Your Mum seems nice, you take after her. Your Dad was better than I thought considering you have issues with him and I don't think your Grandmother likes me very much. And your room is surprisingly not too different from the dormitory, are photographs by your bed and a poster of a motorcycle all you consider personalization?"

"That's pretty personal," Scorpius insisted as he sat down beside him, "So want to ring over to Varanian and Annie?"

"You really need a better word then 'ring' because muggles use it when talking about phone calls."

"Do you want to go or not?"

"Not. I want to wait until we speak to Crystal tomorrow, find out what's happening with that so I can tell Annie," Michael told him, "If that's okay with you? It's just one more day and today feels like it's been a long one."

"Okay."

* * *

><p>Atticus apparated back to Hogsmeade and trudged solemnly through the snow, the battered town was barely recognizable as the place he'd visited in his youth. It made him feel sad to be there now, especially alone without his children to distract him. The first time he'd been there had been with Brutus in his Third Year, his older brother wanting to show him around. They'd had scoffed down the most expensive chocolate in Honeydukes because… well they'd always money, why not spend it? They'd competed to see who dared go the closest to the Shrieking Shack, ultimately agreeing it was a tie. They'd drooled over the new brooms, Brutus had dragged him away from the bookstore. Brutus treated him to his first Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks, he'd blown off his friends to spend the day with his little brother the loser and hadn't ditched him when his friends had asked again in there.<p>

Most people remembered Hogsmeade as the place they had a good time with their mates or the place they went on their first date but for him, he remembered it as a fun time with his brother. His depression had been bad that week to the point he'd decided not to go because he'd just be alone, Brutus had insisted he go and agreed to go with him, he'd really helped pull him out of it. It was the last place they'd been before he learned he was a Death Eater too, the last place before their relationship had gone to hell. And now Brutus was a Soul Eater, the highest ranking one who was working to destroy the world, killing millions, destroying millions more lives. He watched the memory of their younger selves laughing as they walked through the streets, wondering how the hell it had come down to this.

He wiped a tear from his eye before it could fall as he left the village, he couldn't hate his brother. He still loved Brutus and Brutus had proved on several occasions that he felt the same, he was working for the source of all evil but he wasn't all evil himself. He had his own suspicions about why, Brutus was loyal but this was extreme and things Calderon had said now made more sense in context. He thought everyone was wrong, they weren't after Voldemort's son but his daughter. Calderon didn't have a brother, he had a sister and Brutus was in love with her, maybe even had children with her. Atticus couldn't decide if he was better or worse for staying loyal to his lover, he didn't think he would be able to stand by Skye if she was doing that. Was that good or bad? He needed a drink.

He reached Hogwarts and sighed, he was forty-eight and still living in the school. He really should buy a house to leave it like all the other teachers did, it seemed a lot less safe with Calderon gone and a psycho who butchered little girls going around anyway. With a nervous pang, he wondered if it had been such a wise idea to let Cassia stay alone there. He returned to his classroom but Cassia wasn't there, nor in the office or in their quarters. Why did Hogwarts have to be such so damn big? He started searching, going to places he knew she liked but was coming up blank.

"Penny!" Atticus called to the new Transfiguration Professor as he saw her passing, she smiled at him as he reached her. She was very kind and had an unusually pretty smile, "You wouldn't by chance have seen my daughter anywhere, would you?"

"Next floor, hiding behind the statue of the one-eyed witch so her Daddy won't take her to live with her evil not-mother Skye," Penny informed him readily, "But you didn't hear that from me."

"Thank you, you're a life saver," Atticus offered gratefully and continued on to find his daughter, the vulture perched on top of the statue gave it away slightly, "Cassia?"

"I'M NOT GOING!" Cassia yelled immediately.

"I know you're not, you don't have to go anymore," Atticus assured her and she peered around the stature.

"Really?"

"Really," Atticus repeated and sat down on a windowsill, patting it to tell her she should sit too and she did so. He noticed her eyes were red, "Were you crying?"

"No," Cassia lied quickly and wiped her eyes, he pulled her onto his lap and she nestled against him. He sighed, he really needed to deal with this if Cassia was going to let Skye be a mother to her again.

"You can't avoid your mother forever, you know?"

"You're doing okay avoid your father. And she's not my mother."

"I told you before, that's completely different," Atticus insisted and she shrugged disbelievingly, "Besides, I'm an adult. You're still a child."

"That doesn't mean I'm stupid or wrong."

"Then tell me – very calmly and without yelling – what is your problem with Skye?"

"_Everything_," Cassia stated and glanced at him as if it was obvious, "She sent you away, she didn't let us see you, you nearly died because she made you go away, she thinks our entire wizarding race is sick and diseased, she tried to get Shadows to rip my magic out, she actually _did_ let Shadows rip out Antonius' magic, all Antonius' pain and misery is her fault. And then after all that, does she say she was sorry? Does she try to make it up to him? No. She walks away. She left you and she left me and she left Antonius, she walked away from her family. Family is the _most_ important thing, you say, but Skye walked away like we were nothing, she walked away even when you called her name, even when Antonius ran after the car crying and begging her to come back. You don't leave your family, Daddy, you don't!"

"Cassia, you can't blame her for everything. Not all of those things are her fault."

"Yes I can," Cassia protested stubbornly and looked down again, wiping away tears, "I hate her."

"Then why are you crying?" Atticus asked of her and she said nothing, he rubbed her arm gently, "I know what it feels like to be mad at someone because you're hurt by something they did."

"It hurts that she did those things," Cassia admitted quietly, "And mothers aren't supposed to abandon you, she even tried to make it right. I don't want to see her and Antonius and you shouldn't see her again either, she'll just hurt us again. We've been through enough."

"How can she try to make it right if you don't even try to let her?"

"Why should I have to try if you don't try with your daddy?" Cassia countered defensively and he sighed, he didn't think she was going to let this go.

"Alright, I will try with my Father if you try with Skye."

"Okay," Cassia agreed reluctantly, "But I still get to stay with you for Christmas, right?"

"How about you get to stay but you come with me to pick Antonius up so you can see her?" Atticus told her and she looked thoughtfully for a moment, "For me?"

"Okay, Daddy."

"That's my girl," Atticus smiled and kissed the top of her head, she cuddled him. Baby steps.


	29. VI: Betrayal

_**Author's Note:** Thanks so much to Colin Creevey for reviewing!_

* * *

><p>"Come on, Cel, you should go home," Ron was saying to him as they sat on the couch in Harry's office, Celestine rested his head on his hand with the most depressed expression he should muster, "You don't to rush back into this work."<p>

"I just… I just need something to keep my mind of it, you know?" Celestine lied, looking at the sympathetic man tearfully, "Home doesn't feel like home anymore without her, it's just an empty silent building."

"You have Vale."

"Vale the world's quietest toddler?" Celestine pointed out and Ron nodded in agreement with this, "He'll just be sleeping now anyway."

"So get some rest," Ron offered and clapped him on the back, "You need it, buddy."

"I can't sleep, I just lie there at night and all I can see is her… hanging there," Celestine invented and thought of his dead parents to cause a lump to well in his throat, "I can't believe I didn't know, that I didn't see it. I knew she was upset about Vale but I didn't think…"

"None of us did, you can't blame yourself."

"But she's my wife- _was_ my wife. I should have known," Celestine insisted as his voice broke, "And if I'd jus-just gotten there a bit sooner then-"

"You can't torture yourself with ifs, Cel," Ron interjected seriously, Celestine thought he was completely nailing the grieving, guilt-ridden husband act, "You're not the first to and you're not the last but it never helps. You know what does though?"

"What?" Celestine sniffed and wiped at his eyes.

"A round at the Leaky Cauldron, come on. That will take your mind off this crap, my treat."

"Okay," he agreed but Harry walked in before either of them had made a move, they both tensed up.

"What's up?" Harry wondered of them.

"Nothing," Ron admitted as he shrugged it off.

"Then why are you in my office?"

"Because your couch is comfy," Ron told him truthfully as it was obvious and Harry scratched at his head as they both stood, "In another meeting with Alaric Layton, were you?"

"Yes," Harry sighed before his expression turned more sympathetic as he spotted Celestine, "How you doing?"

"Fine. Great. Terrible. The worst," Celestine reeled off, he could get away being more a jerk because of is 'grief' now, "What do you care? You don't trust me, why should I trust you?"

"It's not about trust, it's just safety," Harry insisted not for the first time while he and Ron started to move over to the door.

"Of course it is, mate," Ron stated sarcastically, "Apparently information isn't safe with us anymore but 'always-absent' Alaric 'I-don't-trust-that-guy' Layton is apparently Gringotts."

"You know what? Fine," Harry snapped and closed the door before they could leave, he whipped out his wand and conjured his silver stag to run circles around them to keep any Specters away so they couldn't overhear, "You _really_ want to know the Secret-Keeper's identity?"

"Yes."

"I guess," Celestine shrugged, hardly daring to hope.

"It's Flannery Leebin, okay?" Harry told them in a hushed down, much to both of their surprise.

"But he's a civilian, not an Auror?"

"He volunteered and Alaric agreed to it like an idiot so just don't say anything, I don't want to get him killed. I'm serious, Ron, not even to Hermione."

"Okay," Ron nodded.

"Got it," Celestine confirmed and put his hand over his mouth as if in thought, it covered his smirk. Things were really lining up for him, Gabrielle died and now he'd get to find Calderon _and_ get rid of the suspicious Leebin all in one go.

"So how are you doing?" Harry asked with concern.

"I miss my wife," Celestine cried with tears of joy.

* * *

><p><em>Xerxes nervously approached the door his half-brother apparently lived in, it was a much nicer neighborhood then his mother's had been. He didn't know whether it was that, the fact he'd had no prior contact with his brother or because Hecate's… death had made him feel like life was too short but he didn't feel the urge to flee this time and work up the courage to return like he had before. He took the knocker and politely rapped on it a few times, fidgeting idly because of his nerves before the door opened. He was surprised to be greeted by a boy, maybe ten years old with emerald eyes and grubby brown hair. The boy stared at him blankly as if waiting for him to speak, his eyes unblinking. Was this his brother?<em>

_"Urm… Hi," Xerxes greeted the silent child whose expression didn't change, "Are you called Pyrrhus Florian by any chance?"_

_"No," the boy scoffed as if it were obvious, "He's my brother."_

_"Ah well, good. Is he in?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Can I speak to him?"_

_"No."_

_"What about your father? Is he in?" Xerxes questioned instead, thinking that was a more logical route to take._

_"Yes."_

_"Can I speak to him?"_

_"No."_

_"Well why not?!" Xerxes demanded irritably._

_"He's busy," the boy told him, shifting uncomfortably, "With Pyrrhus."_

_"Can't you just tell him there's someone here to see him?"_

_"I don't wanna," the boy whined and averted his eyes, "Can't you just talk to me? I'm way better then Pyrrhus, he likes girly gymnastics and boring history. But I don't, last week I scored a goal in football. And it wasn't an own goal this time!"_

_"Well I'm sure that's very nice, kid-"_

_"Marvin," the boy corrected with a smile._

_"-Marvin but you see, Pyrrhus is my brother. We have the same Mummy. Do you understand?" _

_"Are you a witch too?" Marvin asked him, his eyes shooting to him with interest, "I want to be a witch."_

_"Wizard. Boys are called wizards," Xerxes corrected him and Marvin ogled him, looking impressed, "And yes, I am so if you don't let me in and tell your father that I'm here then I'll turn you into a toad."_

_Marvin couldn't scramble to get out of the way fast enough, he let Xerxes into the comfortable sitting room while the boy bolted upstairs. Xerxes closed the door behind him and went to sit, glancing around and seeing an abundance of plant life but it was neat and clean, except for some toys on the coffee table that Marvin had problem been playing with. Marvin ran back down the stairs a few minutes later._

_"Daddy said he'd be down in a minute when he's finished," Marvin informed him and Xerxes felt a pang of relief, "Would you like a drink while you wait?"_

_"No, I'm okay," Xerxes brushed it off and Marvin nodded before kneeling down by the table with the toys._

_"Do you want to play with me?" Marvin asked of him cheerfully and offered him one of the toys, some plastic man dressed in commando gear, "You can be Captain strong, he's the best. I want to be like him when I grow up, he's bigger and stronger and gets to beat up the other guys then fuck them."_

_"What did you say?!" Xerxes gasped in shock at the language and use of it, Marvin looked confused, "What game is this?"_

_"Love."_

_"Marvin, come here," Xerxes offered instead, feeling rather disturbed and patting the seat beside him. _

_"Well okay," Marvin agreed and went over to sit beside him, "If I do what you want can you turn me into a wizard?"_

_"No, you're either with magic or you're not."_

_"I can still give you a magical time," Marvin whispered and reached out to put his hand on Xerxes' leg, he grabbed the boy's hand and caught his eye._

_Xerxes then delved into his mind and immediately wished he hadn't, it was the most disturbing mind he'd ever jumped into. Hecate had been very wrong, Linden Florian was not a good man. He was a pedophile, he'd been abusing his three sons for a long time and the eldest boy took after him except with a more sadistic, violent streak. They'd abused his poor brother, they were abusing him right now. He tore himself free of Marvin's mind, he wanted to throw up and scrub the inside of his mind out with soap. Forget just meeting his brother, he couldn't leave Pyrrhus there when he was going to be suffering through that. _

_"What?" Marvin questioned of him, looking puzzled. _

_Xerxes opened his mouth to speak but was distracted as he laid eyes on his brother for the first time, well for the first time with his own eyes. He was thirteen and looked quite young for his age, his skin not touched by acne probably helped with that. His short hair was crimson and his violet eyes red as if he'd been crying, he had his arms wrapped protectively around himself and walked with his head hung. He was walking behind the sorry excuse he had for a father, a lanky man with hair already gray and a satisfied smile on his face. _

_Xerxes felt a burst of rage, how dare this filthy muggle defile his brother?! His magical brother?! And those other two muggle kids he had. Not to mention the fact that as a father himself, Linden was a disgrace to fathers everywhere! He was on his feet before he realized it, wand in hand and a spell already shooting out. It struck Linden and he went flying, smashing – hopefully painfully – through the bannisters and into the wall, he fell from it and bounced down the stairs. He groaned at the foot of the stairs, cringing from whatever wounds he'd received. Neither of Linden's son made any attempt to help him, Marvin smirked while Pyrrhus just looked fearful as if expecting to be next._

_"I know what you are and I know what you did!" Xerxes screamed at him furiously, his wand quivering in his hand, "You're not going to lay a hand on my brother ever again!"_

_"O-Okay, I-I won't, I-I promise," Linden stammered out fearfully but Xerxes could tell it was a lie, he risked a peek inside his mind and saw he was already fantasizing about doing it again._

_"You're sick! You're sick! You're sick! You're just sick!" Xerxes shouted incredulously, if he had no intention of stopping when a wizard was attacking him then there was no way he'd keep his word when Xerxes left. He couldn't leave his brother here, "I'm taking Pyrrhus!"_

_"What!? No! You can't take my son!"_

_"Try and stop me, muggle! Pyrrhus, pack whatever things you want because you're leaving. Now!" Xerxes snapped and Pyrrhus apparently agreed the total stranger was a safer bet then staying because he ran back up the stairs, Marvin bolting after him._

_"Please don't take my son, I love him," Linden pleaded desperately, trying to stand but failing as his leg looked twisted. Good, "I need him, he's my favorite. We can share-"_

_"Crucio! Crucio! Crucio! Crucio! Crucio!" Xerxes cast and Linden started screaming as he flailed wildly, he only stopped the torture when Pyrrhus started coming down the stairs with a rucksack slung over his shoulder with Marvin behind him with his own bag, he finally lowered his wand while Linden continued to sob as his body shook, "Come on."_

_"Where are you taking us, sir?" Pyrrhus asked nervously and Xerxes stopped in front of the door, realizing Pyrrhus didn't know his name._

_"Does it matter?" Xerxes wondered and Pyrrhus looked thoughtful for a second before shaking his head while Marvin grabbed his toys off the table, "And my name is Xerxes by the way, Xerxes Seneca. I'm your half-brother by your mother."_

_"I'm Pyrrhus," Pyrrhus admitted quietly, looking as if he was hardly daring to hope, "Thank you. Thank you so much."_

_"Let's go already," Marvin insisted and Xerxes glanced at him in confusion._

_"You're not going," Xerxes told him seriously and the boy looked as if he'd been slapped in the face._

_"But… But why?"_

_"Because you're not my brother and you're a muggle," Xerxes pointed out truthfully and Marvin's eyes welled with tears, Marvin's mind was already somewhat twisted anyway. Besides, he had no connection to the boy or reason to take him, what would he even do with a muggle in a magical school? He wouldn't be surprised if they killed him, "I'm sorry your life sucks but I can't do anything about it."_

_"Pyrrhus, don't let him leave me."_

_"Xerx-"_

_"You can stay here with one brother or leave with another, you can't have both," Xerxes interjected before Pyrrhus could defend his brother, "He can't come where we're going."_

_"You're not going to leave me are you, Pyrrhus?" Marvin whined at his brother, Pyrrhus hung his head looking incredibly torn, "Pyrrhus, don't leave me. You need to protect me, you have to."_

_"Decide faster, I don't have all day."_

_"I-I'm sorry, Marvin," Pyrrhus apologized tearfully as he looked back up, every line on his face was ingrained with guilt, "But I can't… I just can't do this anymore, I'm going to go mad if I stay. I'm so sorry."_

_"No!" Marvin yelled and stomped his feet, angry tears filling his eyes, "You can't go without me!"_

_"I'll come back for you," Pyrrhus promised truthfully, "I'll come back for you as soon as I can, I promise."_

_"Don't bother!" Marvin spat and threw down his things, "I hate you! I hate you all, wizards! If I ever see a wizards then… then I'll shoot them in the head! Shoot them dead! Because you're all bad and I hate you! I hate you!"_

_"Marv-" Pyrrhus started to say but the younger boy had already stormed off in the direction of the stairs._

_"Marvy, sweetheart, if you would just get Daddy the phone," Linden pleaded with the boy in passing but Marvin kicked him in the head._

_"I hate you too!" Marvin screamed at him before storming up the stairs while Linden was too busy spitting blood out of his mouth._

_ Xerxes took that as his cue to leave and led Pyrrhus out of the door, closing it behind him and magically locking it to make sure Pyrrhus didn't run back instead because he still looked guilty. Xerxes glanced at his brother and frowned worriedly, the boy really must be a pathetic excuse for a wizard to allow a muggle to abuse him and he was a wizard not a squib because he'd seen as much in Marvin's memories. He also wondered what the hell he had just done, he didn't want to be responsible for his damaged teenage brother. Pyrrhus looked at him expectantly though, he still couldn't just leave him there. Damn him and his good heart, he'd just have to figure something out. He sighed and put a hand on the boy's shoulder, disapparating them both far away from there._

* * *

><p>Antonius was feeling incredibly nervous, he knew he shouldn't be and in fact it was rather stupid to feel that way, who felt nervous about seeing their mother? And yet, he couldn't help it. He hadn't seen his mother in so long and he was terrified of ruining his chance to make her like him again. His father's words did make him feel somewhat better but he was still anxious, maybe his father was wrong about how his mother would feel. He didn't know.<p>

He couldn't decide whether he felt better or worse that Cassia wouldn't be there, on one hand he was guaranteed time with his mother and she wouldn't be spending every second dealing with Cassia. Cassia behaving for Skye wasn't something he found easy to imagine considering her current state of mind, even before she'd turned on Skye she'd not been easy to deal with. On the other hand, Cassia needed to see Skye to get along with her again and it was more pressure with just him alone with her. He also wished Hope could've been there, stroking her was calming but his mother hadn't wanted her there.

He was really clueless on how to greet her, normally he'd hug his mother if he'd been a part from her but… Two and a half years. It felt like a long time to him and he felt like a lot had happened in that time, he wasn't the same boy his mother had walked away from. She didn't try to hug him either, they just stared at each other until his father broke the silence. A short conversation later and he was alone with her in the house, he barely recognized the narrow hallway and not because of his memory.

"It looks different," Antonius observed quietly as he stood staring at the hallway.

"The fire destroyed pretty much everything, I had to buy all things and redecorate it, a lot of it had to be rebuilt too," Skye told him and Antonius felt stupid for not thinking of that, he felt his stomach curl up in knots. Now she thought he was stupid, "So it looks different, muggles can't magic everything back to normal that fire destroys."

"Wizards can't either," Antonius pointed out, thinking of Varanian being mangled by the flames and Scorpius' hand. Both of them were still all scarred, "Magic can't do everything."

"I'm sure it can't," Skye muttered and glanced at her watch, looking about as nervous as he felt, "Are… Are you thirsty?"

"I… I could drink."

"Good, I'll just put your things in your room and get you one. We can talk and catch up, I'd love to hear how you're doing," Skye offered with a somewhat forced enthusiasm, Antonius felt his insides twist up again. Was he doing something wrong and making her feel awkward or was she just also nervous like he was?

"Sounds good."

Skye headed upstairs and Antonius took the time to look around the ground floor, the living room on the left was the closest to looking the same as he remembered. There was the same mantelpiece, the couch, armchairs and television were all in the same places. They were just different styles and colors to when he'd lived there, there was also very few photographs now and none of the Ashains. On the right was the kitchen/dining room which had changed more drastically, the kitchen had been completely redone and was laid out differently, he couldn't tell if the dining area had been given less space or it was just that the beech table was rather large. There was a radio in there, still on.

"-_This is ridiculous!_" someone on the radio was saying, sounding very angry and passionate, "_Greece, Turkey, Egypt and now Cyprus have fallen, when are the world leaders going to wake up and do something?! These Soul Eaters are starting to take over the actual world, who is next and why is no one stopping them!? What do they have that we don't?! Whatever they do have, they're just getting stronger and growing in power the longer they're left to their own devices. While our leaders sit on their hands, we are sitting ducks. They've taken four countries in a year and a half, everyone's completely cut off, it's causing major disruption for the economy and planes are crashing if they try to fly over it. These people aren't stopping and they're not going to stop! Someone has to take action!"_

"_I can see you're very passionate about this, Ted_," a calmer voice on the radio commented, "_But what do you say to the argument that it's not our country's responsibility to help these other countries and it'll just put them as targets?"_

"_And to that I say: what did Greece, Turkey, Egypt and Cyprus do to put themselves as targets?"_ the first voice spoke out again, presumably Ted, "_Nothing, Joe, but they were attacked anyway. We don't know what these people want or what country these people want next but I think it's obvious that they're not going to stop unless someone stops them_."

"_I have to agree with Ted there, Joe_," a nasally female voice contributed, "_And am the only one who finds it suspicious that our world leaders are doing nothing? It's almost like they know something we don't, I don't think we're being told everything_-"

"Sorry about that," Skye commented as she clicked the radio off, ending the discussion, "Forgot to turn it off. Do you want a nice warm cup of Hot Chocolate or some Lemonade?"

"Hot Chocolate," Antonius decided and slid into one of the seats at the table while his mother started to make the drinks, feeling rather solemn because of the news, "I didn't know Cyprus had fallen."

"It was announced today, you're too young to be worrying about that stuff though," Skye said and Antonius had to resist the urge to give a snort of amusement, he was too involved to _not_ worry about it. Skye finished making the drinks and carried them over, putting a mug in front of him and sitting opposite with her own. He pulled it over to him and noticed little marshmallows sprinkled on the top, Skye smiled at him wistfully, "I remember you used to like it with little marshmallows. Of course your sister didn't, she only liked it the way Daddy did it. Even though it's exactly the same."

"Thank you," Antonius offered as he sipped his drink and Skye watched him with watery eyes, "Are you okay?"

"I just didn't realize how much I missed you until I saw you again," Skye admitted and reached out to squeeze his hand as the tears leaked from her eyes, "I love you so much, Tony, and don't you _ever _forget that. Do you understand me? Whatever happens, you're my son and I love."

"I love you too, Mum," Antonius told her tearfully, relief and joy flooding his veins at the thought his mother did still love, "But it's Antonius."

"How touching," a voice he hadn't heard for a while commented.

Antonius jumped up in an instant, spinning to see the old Transfiguration professor leaning casually in the doorway. Pyrrhus Florian. He looked actually younger than the last time Antonius had seen him, his skin was smoother and his hair was no longer gray but a fiery mane that reached past his shoulders. He had heard he'd been using an aging potion to mask his youth though, apparently he had. He had the same wiry frame and the same violently violet eyes, he was dressed in muggle clothes rather than robes though. Antonius didn't know what he wanted but he didn't think it was good.

Without hesitation, he grabbed the edge of table to throw it onto its side to act as a barricade which caused Skye to jump to her feet. Good, he had to protect his mother and she was safer behind it. He grabbed her and pulled her behind the table, he stood protectively in front of her and drew his wand from its invisible holster to aim it at Florian. His heart was pounding in his ears but he wasn't moving, Florian was ogling his wand.

"Stay down, Mum!" Antonius called over his shoulder and Florian opened his mouth to speak but spoke, "_Petrificus Totalis!"_

Florian leaped out of the way of his perfectly placed spell, laughing. Antonius supposed he didn't blame him, he'd learned that people didn't think a ten year old holding a wand was threatening. He thought they should be though, he may not be much but his wand was powerful and had a habit of doing useful things. Not that he really thought he could beat Florian, in fact unless his father miraculously had forgotten something… He didn't think this would end well, he'd be damned if he was going to lie down and die though. Especially when his mother's life was also at risk.

"Daddy been teaching you a few tricks, boy?" Florian questioned curiously, "It's good, we want you to have a bit of fight in you."

"_Wingardium Leviosa!"_ Antonius tried instead, waving his wand wildly to try confuse Florian what he had been aiming for.

It worked, Florian looked puzzled for a second before Antonius wrenched his wand downwards and the chunk of ceiling he'd targeted was ripped down as well. Florian yelped in surprise and his mother shrieked but the redhead disapparated with a crack before he could be crushed. He heard the accompanying pop to announce Florian had appeared behind him, he turned in time to be hit by something and was thrown violently back against the wall. It hurt and hurt again when he thudded back to the ground, his body aching, his head spinning and the coppery taste of his own blood in his mouth. He grabbed his wand and jumped back up, sure he'd die if he didn't keep fighting.

"You said you wouldn't hurt him!" Skye yelled and Antonius froze.

"I'm still going to defend myself if I'm attacked!" Florian protested and Antonius' eyes drifted between his mother and the psycho who'd killed McGonagall and Nick, his mother wasn't hiding in fear nor trying to protect him, not even trying to run away.

"I don't understand," Antonius whispered disbelievingly as he lowered his wand, meeting his mother's guilt-ridden eyes, "You're selling out your _own_ son? You lured me here and pretended to care just to pawn me off to the raging psychopath?"

"Tony, he's going to kill my brother if you don't go with him," Skye told him as she approached him, looking desperate and tearful again. She tried to touch his shoulder gently but he tore himself away angrily, "You don't want your Uncle Jasper to die do you?! He promised he wouldn't hurt you, he just needs you for something."

"Cassia's right about you, you know?" Antonius spat at her as tears pricked his own eyes, experiencing a soul shattering feeling of absolute betrayal and his scar screamed in pain as if in agreement, "I never understood before, I always defended you but she was right. You are the worst, you don't deserve to be called my mother."

"Tony, please-"

"MY NAME IS NOT TONY!" Antonius screamed at her furiously, stepping back from her, "It's Antonius. Antonius Brutus Ashain. And you know, even my evil Shadow Lieutenant Uncle Brutus is more loyal to his family then you are."

"Yeah, Skye, geez," Florian scoffed in agreement, "You suck."

"You're the one who made me do it!" Skye shrieked at him.

"And? You still suck," Florian said with a shrug before smiling psychotically at Antonius, "So what's it going to be, kid? Throw down your wand, come with me willingly and I don't kill your not-evil non-Shadow not-Lieutenant Uncle Jasper or I duel you into submission and kill all your muggle relatives?"

"Just take me away from her," Antonius said, feeling nothing but hurt as he threw down his wand for Florian, the former professor picked up it up and glanced at it admiringly before pocketing it.

"Let's go then."

"What about my brother?" Skye asked worriedly and Florian sighed.

The former professor rolled his eyes as he withdrew a phone from his pocket, he pressed a few buttons before tossing it to her. It must have been used to contact his accomplice before a second later, a muscular dark haired man with sapphiric eyes was stepping out of the shadows in the doorway with his uncle. Uncle Jasper had his hands tied in front of him, his blond hair had been cut ruthlessly short since the last time he'd seen him but otherwise he seemed the same. He blinked the same sea-green eyes as Skye and glanced around, his eyes widened in panic when he saw him while Skye looked somewhat relieved.

"See, unhurt? I can return people unhurt," Florian stated as if he expected to not be believed, "Your brother for your son, that's the deal."

"What?! No deal!" Uncle Jasper shot out immediately, "Take me, leave my nephew alone! He's just a child."

"You're not in position to be making demands, we don't even want you."

"He promised he won't hurt him and he'll give him back," Skye told him, sounding rather pathetically like she was trying to convince herself of this.

His uncle looked incredulous and the accomplice pushed him forward, apparently a sign of the tradeoff. Uncle Jasper was seemingly not content to be a pawn in this, he caught Antonius' eye and gave the slightest of jerks of his head in the direction of the door. Then without warning, he threw himself at the accomplice to knock him down and out of the way of the doorway.

"Run, Tony, run!" Uncle Jasper yelled at him.

Antonius bolted with the slightest bit of hesitation, feeling guilty for leaving his uncle but Florian had said they didn't want him and had clearly just been using him to get Antonius. That meant they shouldn't him, right…? He had no time to dwell as he hurtled down the narrow corridor and out into the cold street, running desperately and wishing he'd still had his wand. There was a pop though and Florian appeared in front of him, Antonius tried to avoid him but the former professor grabbed him and jabbed a wand into his throat when he tried to struggle.

Florian apparated them back inside the hallway and kicked the front door shut behind him, Uncle Jasper was now bound behind his back and on the floor with a bloody lip. The accomplice was standing over him with a wand on him, Skye was standing in the doorway looking panicked as her eyes darted around fearfully.

"You're not going to try run away from me again, do you understand?" Florian hissed into his ear, "I think you need a demonstration of what happens if you do. _Avada Kedavra_."

"NO!" Antonius screamed but was helpless to stop it. He'd been wrong. He was a fool.

Florian jabbed his wand at his bound uncle on the floor, there was a deafening whooshing sound and a burst of green light that seemed to reach every corner of the room. And then his Uncle Jasper was dead. Antonius felt tears well in his eyes, he hadn't ever been especially close to his uncle but the fact he hadn't seen him in over two years but the man had tried to save his life said a lot about the kind of person he was. The kind of person who hadn't deserved to die like that, hadn't deserved to die because of him. Skye fell to the ground, sobbing over her brother's body while the accomplice threw Florian an irritated look.

"Do you understand now, Antonius?" Florian asked in his ear as tears rolled down Antonius' cheeks, "If you don't do what I want or try to escape again then I _will _kill someone. Do you understand me?"

"I understand," Antonius admitted quietly.

"And Skye," Florian spoke to Skye instead, his mother glanced at him fearfully, "Muggles killed your brother and took your son when he tried to save him, if you tell anyone it was wizards then I'll kill your little boy and your boyfriend and then you. Do you understand me?"

"I understand," Skye sobbed, "Don't hurt my son."

"Make it look more like a muggle attack," Florian commanded to the accomplice before disapparating them both, taking him far away from there.


	30. VI: Familiar Faces

_**Thanks to:** Cool, Lucifersdaughter, percyjackson42, Colin Creevey and Cal for reviewing!_

**_Questions:_**

**_Her brother over her son? _**  
><em>She knew they wanted Antonius alive, she figured it was alright to turn him over to save her brother's life<em>

**_Why did X leave his brothers brother behind? _**  
><em>Because Xerxes is limited in his capacity to care, he felt bad for Marvin but he didn't care enough to try to help him. He didn't want to be responsible for a random muggle child, he didn't like Marvin after meeting him anyway and thought the Shadows might kill him if he brought a muggle to the Training Tower so left him<em>

**_Will Skye ever learn not to put her own kids in danger?_**  
><em>Maybe<em>

* * *

><p>Scorpius woke early the next morning, slightly surprised to find himself in his room not the Hogwarts dormitory. Not early enough apparently as when he went downstairs, his mother was already having breakfast with Michael and Sol. They were having an animated discussion about healing magic while Sol drooled scrambled eggs onto himself, his father and grandmother were nowhere to be seen. Scorpius was lost for most of it but he was glad they seemed to be getting along, he really didn't know enough about healing magic.<p>

"So I was thinking about taking Michael into Diagon Alley," Scorpius spoke up, both to change the subject and because they'd need to get away from his parents to meet Crystal.

"Yeah, I missed the last Hogsmeade weekend because of the full moon so I really need to go to get some stuff," Michael added in agreement.

"Well we could all-"

"Mother, come on, do you really want to be wandering around in the cold?" Scorpius interjected, "We'll take the Knight Bus, and we'll be together. It'll be fine."

"We'll be back as soon as we can, we can move faster alone," Michael assured her, looking very hard like he was trying not to ask what the Knight Bus was, "Please, Mrs Malfoy?"

"Well… Alright," his mother reluctantly agreed, "Just be back by dinner at the latest."

They nodded their agreement and thanks before the conversation resumed, they finished off their breakfast before leaving. Since it was only morning – apparently Crystal's meeting was around lunch time – and his mother would be expecting things to have been bought, they did actually go to Diagon Alley first to get the things. After the conversation with Crystal, Scorpius figured it was the perfect time to visit Varanian to fill him in then they just needed to make sure to be back by dinner. Simple. Scorpius had already done his Christmas shopping so there wasn't much to do, Michael bought a lot less than he did and insisted on paying himself for no reason despite the fact Scorpius had more money and was quite willing to give some over.

He was surprised to find security had been increased there, including a search – not unlike Cistro's – to get into Diagon Alley in the first place and there were more Aurors patrolling as well which put him on edge as he knew some were Shadows. He was relieved when they could leave to go meet Crystal and took the Knight Bus once more, apparently at a random muggle park in a random town. They found the place and Scorpius could only hope Michael's Dyslexia hadn't led him wrong as they sat in wait, on a random bench in the cold.

"I can't wait until we can use magic outside Hogwarts," Scorpius said with a sigh, "I could warm us both up."

"I can't wait until we can legally order alcohol," Michael admitted half to himself but seemed to immediately regret it at the dirty look Scorpius threw him, "And you know what else? Not knowing how to shave is finally working for me because it's keeping my face warm."

"You have to stop drinking, Michael."

"I'm not drinking, I'm sitting on a bench."

"I'm serious," Scorpius insisted and his friend rolled his eyes, "You're drinking for all the wrong reasons and you can't even drink responsibly, you're going to hurt someone one of these days, maybe even yourself and drink yourself into an early grave."

"Good."

"Michael-"

"Michael?" a woman's voice questioned and they both jolted in surprise to see Crystal Sanford approaching them, she smiled when she saw her son and Michael moved to go hug her where he was now the taller of the pair. Scorpius thought she was looking quite good, in a healthy kind of way, "It's so good to see you. How are you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Michael brushed it off and pulled away, he gestured to Scorpius, "You remember my friend, Scorpius?"

"Of course, how ar-"

"So what's the deal with pretending to be dead?" Michael interrupted before she'd finished her sentence, "Why do people think you're dead? Why is John Avery giving me letters? What is going on?!"

"Okay, you deserve an explanation and I guess Scorpius as well," Crystal nodded and pointed out a picnic bench for them to sit at instead since there was more seats.

They moved over there and Scorpius looked around for passersby but no one was around. Who would be? It was freezing and had started to snow. She then launched into her explanation, the abductions, Florian looking for Jack, John Avery helping her and ultimately how he'd helped them fake their deaths to stop the Shadows coming after them. By the time she was done, Scorpius was feeling much colder and it had nothing to do with the poor weather. Scorpius was wondering what in the world the mad defector Pyrrhus Florian could possibly want with the Specter-charged serial killer Jack Thorne, Michael's first question had absolutely nothing to do with any of that though.

"So what you're dating this John guy?" Michael demanded of her irritably.

"No," she said immediately, sounding truthful albeit surprised, "Of course not, we're just… just friends. He's a great guy though and all, I'm sure you'll like him, the little ones all love him. Except maybe Bertie but you can never tell with Bertie."

"Is that why he took Agnes to Hogsmeade before?" Scorpius questioned, recalling Albus claiming to have seen them.

"That was to get her a wand because he knows a guy who'll see to younger ages, can you believe she's a witch? Bertie too but he's too young."

"Agnes and Bertie are not magical," Michael snapped.

"Yes they are, Agnes can do magic with her wand now and John tested Bertie. They're magical."

"Well maybe John is lying to you just to screw with you and they're not magical!"

"Why would he do that?"

"What is your problem?" Scorpius wondered almost at the same time as Crystal's question, Michael either thought she'd asked it or just directed the answer at his mother anyway.

"My problem is that every guy you date turns out to be a stark-raving psychopath!" Michael yelled at her, "And John will be just the same!"

"I'm not dating John!" Crystal protested once more and for the first time, Scorpius rather wished he was somewhere else, "And he's not a psychopath! He saved our lives and he's still helping us, you really would have no family if not for him."

"He's just going to hurt you, and me, _and_ the little ones! Just like all the guys you date-"

"I'm not dating him!"

"No, you're just living in his house, letting him help raise your children, sharing a bed with him-"

"Michael!" Crystal and Scorpius burst out in warning in unison, apparently both thinking he'd gone too far. Michael sulkily and childishly folded his arms, inducing an awkward silence.

"I want you to come home and stay with your family," Crystal said finally, breaking the silence.

"I already agreed to stay with Scorpius," Michael shot out immediately.

"I don't mean just for the break, I mean don't go back to Hogwarts. John's niece died there, it's not safe anymore. We're best just sticking together, the world's in a bad way. John can teach you like he does Agnes, while he can."

"While he can?"

"He was hit by this the Festering Curse while saving Ivy, its slowly killing him," Crystal admitted sadly, Scorpius just thought it was strange to hear a muggle talking about magical things, "Haven't found a way to cure it yet and St Mungo's don't treat people with that Dark Mark."

"Well… No," Michael told her thoughtfully, thankfully more calmly and seeming to just ignore the fact John was dying. Then again, they didn't really know the guy so sympathies were limited, "I can't just leave my friends and my education, I thought I would fail my OWLs but I didn't. I should at least try for my NEWTs, its better I'm at Hogwarts."

"I understand," Crystal nodded in understanding and sighed wistfully, "I'd rather you stay but it's your decision and I respect it, you can always change your mind. How about you at least stay for the last week of the holidays?"

"How about a few days? And not Christmas, that'd be suspicious."

"Okay."

"Okay."

After that the conversation shifted to more mundane topics or at least things Scorpius already knew, Crystal wanted to know how Michael's year was going so far which he was aware of. He tried to bring up Florian again but as he'd secretly suspected, it was too much to hope for that he'd revealed his plans to her about why he wanted Jack. Thankfully, Michael seemed to have moved past his random outburst against John so the conversation was somewhat more pleasant. It had to come to a close though, the Sanfords went their separate ways and it was time to ring over to Varanian's hideout.

"So do you want to tell me what that was about?" Scorpius asked of him as they started trudging through the slushy snow.

"What was what about?" Michael wondered.

"You going off on Crystal about John."

"I don't know, Scorpius, I guess I just feel like my family has been through enough. Okay?" Michael said in a tone that made it hard to tell whether he was sarcastic or serious.

"Okay so you need to focus on the circle, you need to keep your destination in mind still and be completely determined to get there," Varanian's voice was saying and Scorpius noticed he was standing up ahead with Annie and Austin, the latter of whom was staring with intense focus on the ground in front of him while Annie started to laugh, "What?"

"This is stupid," Annie complained still laughing while Austin threw her a murderous look, "Like this is actually how people learn to teleport."

"Apparate," Austin corrected her testily.

"It _is_," Varanian insisted, "You just need to focus so turn your attention back to the circles."

"This is boring," Annie sighed while Austin went back to staring intensely at the ground.

"If you can feel bored then you're not putting all you energy into focusing," Varanian stated seriously and opened his mouth to speak again but started laughing once more, "What now?!"

"You're so serious. And this still feels stupid. And you know, I think drinking actually helped my ADHD."

"Well who cares so shut up and focus," Austin snapped at her, "I've wanted to learn to apparate since I saw McGonagall disapparate after came to my house when I was eleven years old to give me my Hogwarts letter so stop screwing it up!"

"Close your eyes if it helps block out distractions," Varanian offered more gently to Annie who sighed again as she closed her eyes while Austin went back to his intense concentration, "Now focus on the circle and how much you're determined to get there, you want to be in that circle more than anything else in the world-"

"Why don't I just step into it?" Annie wondered curiously.

"Oh my god!" Austin exclaimed in frustration.

"You can't walk, teleport- _apparating_ into the circle is the only way to undo the spell so you want to get there," Varanian continued, "But you know don't be upset if you fail the first time, it's very difficult to do and requires a lot of practice."

"Yeah, yeah, we get it, next step."

"Okay, when I saw go you need to relax and turn on spot, moving with deliberation and mentally propelling yourself into your circle."

"How am I supposed to relax if I'm focusing?" Annie questioned.

"Just do it."

Annie must have taken Varanian's comment as the signal for go because she turned and there was a sound like a gunshot, in the next instance Annie appeared on the ground in front of her. She opened her eyes in surprise while Austin started turning randomly but seemed to be failing, Annie grinned.

"I did it!" Annie exclaimed excitedly.

"Well done but that first time could be a fluke, you need to keep practicing it," Varanian insisted and Annie stepped back out of what presumably must be a circle drawn onto the ground, she spun again and there was another crack as she reappeared in the same spot, "Lucky."

It appeared for once, Varanian was actually wrong. Annie consistently seemed capable of apparating into the selected spot, Austin wasn't having as much luck but after several times he also apparated in front of him. A grin split his face and Annie gave him a high five, if they could do it then Scorpius was sure he'd get it easy. Once he'd achieved it one, Austin also seemed to be able to get it almost every time like Annie. Varanian had folded his arms and was looking quite grumpy rather than pleased at how quickly they'd succeeded.

"So this is real difficult, huh?" Annie wondered sardonically, "Hey Pip, how long did it take you to apparate?"

"It took me shut up and try again," Varanian quipped and Annie smiled at him in amusement before turning on the spot, this time she didn't reappear in her circle but right in front of Varanian who had to grab her to steady her. Austin rolled his eyes and headed off in the direction of the base, "See? You missed the circle, it's harder than you think."

"Maybe I wasn't aiming for the circle."

Annie gave him another small smile as she encircled her arms around his shoulders and pressed her lips against his, Varanian pulled her closer as he kissed her back much to Scorpius' surprise. Not as much as Michael apparently as he gave a strangled gasp, Scorpius punched him in the arm gently to shut him up. He was glad Varanian was apparently trying to move on from his dead wife, Scorpius thought he deserved to be happy.

"You're not going to have a problem with Varanian now too, are you?" Scorpius asked him in a whisper.

"No. I'm just weirded out," Michael admitted also quietly, "And it better not be serious, I don't want to wind up with Varanian for an uncle."

"Why not? He'd be the best uncle. I wish he was my uncle."

"Well of course you would think that, he's a father figure to you."

"I told you before, I don't-"

"Scorpius?" Varanian questioned and Scorpius jumped, seeing their leader approaching them. He was a metamorphmagi so could like anyone but he had his usual appearance today, tall and lanky with scruffy tawny hair and piercing silver eyes, his burn scars hidden, "How long have you been there?"

"Just arrived," Scorpius lied, deciding to leave out how they'd watched the apparation lesson and seen them kiss. It was really none of their business after all, "And we have important news."

"We've found out some things too."

"Hi Pip, how are you? Good thanks, how are you, Scorpius? I'm great, Hogwarts is a breeze," Annie quipped and they both looked at her oddly, "It's called making polite conversation, you know rather than just cutting to the chase. It's something humans do."

"Well thanks for that," Varanian said slowly, seemingly thinking on the same lines as Scorpius about that being pointless, "Come on, Scorpius."

They headed back to the hideout which was thankfully nice and warm inside, Scorpius hadn't realized how cold and numb he was feeling until the warmth started seeping back into his bones. Varanian didn't take him to the basement as usual but rather into the… living kind of room except it had his boards of information as well as couches for sitting on, Michael as well and Annie appeared later with mugs of hot chocolate for them that she slid surreptitiously into their hands before sitting as well. Scorpius had launched into his account of what Crystal had told them about Florian and his interest in Jack, he also recounted the attempts on the Scamander's life and finally the stuff about Martha.

"Interesting," Varanian mused thoughtfully, "But you're wrong, Martha could very well still be the killer or at least that the Shadows shared in their suspicions of you."

"Why?" Scorpius wondered curiously.

"Because the Shadows aren't trying to kill you or the Scamanders, in fact it's quite the opposite. They want you to live because of your scarred wrists and connection to the Shadow Master, they're trying to protect you. They think Florian is behind it all since you're part of Gray so it's not us, being his niece they suspect Martha but their operative screwed up so they still don't know if she's innocent or not."

"Why would Florian want to kill us anyway? Because of a sealed connection?"

"They don't know and neither do we," Varanian admitted, "It may be possible he could tap into your magic through Maurice who is the only one unsealed but it would be more difficult, not to mention completely pointless with the Scepter as a power well to tap into easily."

"Well they are after Calderon, maybe Florian also wants him to try get the Scepter off his brother again?" Scorpius guessed but Varanian shook his head.

"The Shadow Master's stopped using Polyjuice with the Scepter to prevent that happening again, if they stand against each other again then he'll stand as himself so the Scepter won't see Calderon as the truer heir. It'd probably stay with him in fact since he's used it more."

"Maybe Florian doesn't know that because not everyone is a genius like we are," Annie offered.

"Maybe but if he's planning on going after the Shadow Master then he damn well better have a good plan or he's going to be obliterated. What I don't know is where Jack fits into this."

"Maybe he's hoping to just bypass dueling to destroying the Shadow Master's soul?" Scorpius guessed but Varanian shook his head.

"This is _the_ Shadow Master," Varanian pointed out, "He knows how to handle, destroy and deal with Specters which Jack is in part. He wouldn't stand a chance, the Shadow Master was that before the Scepter or the wrist scars so that wouldn't have an impact. If he's going to use Jack like that anyway then there's no reason to kill the scarred wrists."

"What else could he possibly need him for?" Michael asked.

"I don't know," Varanian admitted with a sigh as he leaned back, "There's still too many maybes and unknowns, even when we learn new things they're not puzzle pieces that are fitting in."

"I'm sure we'll figure it out," Annie assured him and reached out to squeeze his hand gently.

"Is Wyatt in?" Scorpius inquired, "I'd like to speak to him about becoming an animagi and all. Or Molly. Because she's my girlfriend."

"Molly's out, Wyatt's in," Varanian told him as he stood, "I'll take you to him."

"I know where Wyatt's room is," Scorpius pointed out as they left Michael with his aunt.

"I know, I just figured they could use some privacy."

"Hey Scor," Wyatt offered cheerfully as he wandered into the kitchen before Scorpius could head upstairs to his room, unlike his father he was friendly, "What's up?"

"I'm an animagus," Scorpius told him proudly and Wyatt's grin widened, he excitedly offered him a high five that Scorpius took.

"Sweet! I told you that you were close. What animal?"

"Thestral."

"Nice," Wyatt applauded him while Varanian walked off, "You are going to have to train intensely over this break, get you mastering it and able to transform at will before you get back to Hogwarts. When you don't need spells anymore and it's just natural to you, the Ministry won't be able to detect it with your Trace."

"Good to know," Scorpius admitted, he hadn't been aware of that. That could come in useful.

Wyatt then dragged him off to practice, Scorpius felt much more at ease training with Wyatt because he was an animagus and not only knew exactly what to do but had been through the same thing himself. He only stopped when Michael went to get him because they'd need to be leaving to keep his promise to his mother to be back by dinner time, he did so although didn't feel much like eating dinner because he was full of gummy worms that Wyatt had kept giving him to reward him for his success.

Scorpius actually didn't mind returning home to the Manor so much with Michael there, he was nice having his friend to talk to at dinner and they spent the rest of the evening relaxing by the fire and playing Wizard's Chess to take Michael's mind off things. They didn't get much chance to get away the next day but then Scorpius hadn't expected them too, it was Sol and Lysel's second birthday so his mother and Myriam were throwing the pair another party. Scorpius was naturally expected to attend his brother's birthday and he wanted Michael to be there anyway, he really wanted him to get to talk to Myriam.

"This may sound like a weird request," Scorpius said to Myriam as he pulled her aside thanks to strategically getting the door, "But erm… my friend Michael is here staying and he's a werewolf and he err… is kind of having a hard with it so could you please maybe talk to him? "

"Well I can try," Myriam agreed slowly, "I'm not sure what you want to me to say."

"Thank you."

He actually found it quite nice to see the rather dark manor decorated up in bright colors for the party and the normally quiet place having children's laughter filling the halls, Sol and Lysel did seem fond of each other. When he arrived, Sol squealed excitedly and pulled the werewolf into a vice-like hug before scampering off to play. Scorpius wondered if Sol would be affected if Lysel did die, he seemed to care for him but then they were only two. If he definitely thought Lysel was the leader of the two, Sol didn't seem to know how to open his presents before Lysel showed him and then he could tear them through faster than the weaker Lysel. Maybe this was a good thing considering how Sol had noticeably more presents to unwrap then Lysel, his were generally more expensive as well.

Not that the toddlers minded, they didn't even seem to notice what belonged to who as they played with whatever, even the boxes or wrapping paper itself. This seemed to bother his grandmother for some reason, she didn't seem to want Lysel playing with Sol's things. Scorpius didn't care though, it was their birthday and as long as they were happy then it didn't matter. He even managed to convince his mother to let them go outside to play in the snow for a while, Scorpius and Maurene showed them how to make snow angels and helped them build a snow man, a snow fort. And a snow leopard because… he had no idea why, apparently leopards were cool. They discovered snowball fighting by themselves, although it was more snow lumps or even just waves. They were laughing and happy, it didn't really matter how accurate it was. They got a chance to try out Sol's toy broomstick as well, Lysel was much better with it though and excited to fly.

Scorpius actually ended up having more fun he thought and playing big brother did take his mind off the war and everything, it actually made him rethink his stance on children. Maybe one day in the future – the distant future at that – it wouldn't be so bad, maybe even nice to see the Manor full of his and Molly's carefree, innocent children running around laughing instead. The toddlers were wiped by the end of it but it had been a good day, Scorpius fell asleep in a good mood for once. The next day he thought he shouldn't have got so carried away though and avoiding anything that could bring him down, he'd been too busy with the toddlers to talk to Leebin – well not about Michael's drinking anyway, it seemed weird to bring it up in front of the little ones that Leebin too had seemed keen to spend time with – and had no idea if Myriam had talked to Michael or not. When he went down the next day for breakfast, he was surprised to see his mother crying.

"What's wrong?" Scorpius asked her worriedly and his mother tried to wipe her eyes but more tears kept falling.

"The Leebins were attacked last night," his mother admitted after a minute, "Myriam's in critical condition, Maurene's severely injured, Lysel's wrist is broken and Flan is missing."


	31. VI: Torture

_**Thanks to:** Jizzle04, KekuleSalvador, green aura, percyjackson42, Cool and Colin Creevey for reviewing!  
><em>

_**Author's Note:** Firstly, questions are at the end of the chapter because there's a lot of them and secondly, thank you everyone for your flashback suggestions, many of you have suggested Cel which is funny because that is who I had in mind but didn't say to not bias you_

* * *

><p>James Sirius Potter was loving life as a Soul Eater, he'd been reluctant at first but now he was really enjoying it. He lived in luxury, everything he needed was provided for him along with anything he wanted within reason, there were plenty of slaves to get things done. He was learning a lot, he'd improved greatly upon his dueling technique and spell library, started getting into the Dark Arts – which weren't Dark if used for good reasons – and torture. It sounded really bad James found it had become a guilty pleasure of his, now he couldn't bully scumbag Slytherins anymore that became his way of venting. It wasn't like they were really people anyway, just slaves who volunteered for the chance of seeing loved ones again before realizing what they signed up for.<p>

It wasn't evil, he knew _he_ wasn't evil so it couldn't be wrong for him to enjoy it, to feel powerful and in control of something for once. They weren't people, they were just objects to experiment with and it was good to experiment for the sake of… researching… stuff. He found it really quite fascinating learning what hurt more and what elicited what reaction, he was also quite curious sometimes just to see what would happen if he did certain things. His anatomy knowledge had increased massively as well. It was also kind of exciting taking over the world, watching the cities fall one by one like they were little more than poorly constructed tower blocks that some toddlers had constructed.

The lands they conquered were better off anyway, sure scores of people died in the process but their society was much better with slaves to do things, James was loving life. The only downside was loneliness, his friends and family were still in England. Even Carver, his extremely handsome best friend who was also a Soul Eater was being left there for the time being. James missed him. He missed the others too, he couldn't wait until they took England so his other friends and family could see how great life was with the Soul Eaters. They'd thank him, he was sure and apologize for ever doubting him in the first place. They would cry in their guilt for trying to lock him up for doing a good thing, praise his name for showing them a better life and being the good, merciful son he was, James would consider forgiving them. He had Stephan though, Carver's eldest half-brother sometimes disturbed him but otherwise proved to be a good companion. Not as good as his brother though.

"Hey James," Stephan greeted him on his way back from a dueling training session, he was tall but thin – not muscular like his more attractive brother – with dark hair and coal-colored eyes, he was in his early twenties and smiled at him in greeting. All his smiles seemed varying degrees of sinister for some reason.

"Hey Stephan, what's up?" James wondered, he could use the company because with Christmas Eve dawning he was feeling kind of sad about not having anyone. Not unless he counted his personal house slave anyway.

"Y-"

"Stephan!" a girl's voice shrieked irritably and they both stopped to see another of Carver's half-siblings approaching, the violet-eyed fifteen year old Viola who had once been a friend of his sister's and a scumbag Slytherin. They were on the same side now but he still didn't like her, she'd nearly gotten his sister killed and didn't seem to care, "I-"

"No, Viola, how many times do I have to tell you?" Stephan cut her off, his expression turning to one of irritation while hers stayed set with rage.

"But you can track down Florian, I know you can! Your Mother was only the best tracker and I _know_ she taught you!" Viola insisted angrily and stamped her foot childishly, "He _murdered_ our Father! He has to die, him and his worthless brat!"

"Uncle Pyrrhus will get what he deserves in due time," Stephan brushed it off, "There's already people tracking him and just because my Mother was only the best tracker in the world, it doesn't mean she taught me. For now I have my duties here and so do you, be patient little sister."

"Bull crap! Stephan, you're good and you know it, you're just putting your own ambitions before our Father's justice."

"This may have escaped your notice but taking over the world is a big task and some of us have real important things to do, petty revenge can wait and Father would understand that," Stephan told her seriously before jabbing his finger back the way she'd came, "And even little tasks must be done so get back to work. Or sleep since it's late, whichever you're supposed to do."

"I hate you!" Viola screamed at him before storming off.

"_Teenagers_," Stephan sighed with a shake of his head as he started walking again, James at his side before the older man turned back to him, "So anyway, remember how you want revenge on Leebin for abandoning you?"

"Yes," James said slowly, surprised and somewhat honored Stephan remembered that.

"And you want to start doing real tasks instead of just training?"

"Yes."

"Well then I have the perfect task for you," Stephan told him and clapped him on the back, changing their direction to lead them on a different path which led to the torture dungeons, "It seems Leebin is the Secret-Keeper for Calderon's location and his Occlumency is impeccable so we're going to have to torture the location out of him. I'd like to put you in charge of that task."

"Really?" James wondered hopefully, excited on both counts and Stephan smiled again, continuing to walk with his arm around him to lead him… James would be lying if he said he didn't like that.

"Really," Stephan confirmed, sounding sincere, "I think you're ready. Do you?"

"Absolutely!"

"Good. It will have to be intense, based on his skill level of Occlumency he might entirely be capable of separating his mind from his physical pain to some degree so he might be able to resist easier. You'll need to arrange shifts so yourself and other torturers can get some rest if he doesn't break quickly, do _not_ let him sleep, he cannot be allowed a reprieve and the more uncomfortable the better. Do you understand?" Stephan questioned seriously and James nodded in understanding, "If it lasts two weeks, arrange for him to given a potion to save off sleep and every fortnight after. Only allow him water every three days to keep him weak and experiencing further discomfort, food only every three months for the same reason. If it takes that long of course, maybe you'll get lucky and he'll break within the hour. There'll always be a Healer to hand in case he gets hurt too bad or for some reason you have to break these rules."

"I won't let you down, Stephan," James assured him and Stephan smiled, instead of lighting up his eyes, it seemed to darken them dangerously.

"Then do the Soul Eaters proud and take as much personal satisfaction as you want," Stephan told him as he unlocked one of the furthest in doors, "He's been Cruciated so stay from that for a bit, don't want to drive him insane. I tried to get in through Legilimens but that's all so far, he's a virgin sack of flesh to be torn apart. He's all yours. Oh and if he asks, we killed his family."

Inside it was fairly dark, there were torches lit that illuminated the blood stains on the walls and floor from past occupants but the darkness still seemed to consume them just as the cold consumed their heat. You needed to go down a flight of stairs to reach the ground but you could still see clearly in the room though, the brickwork was all exposed and all the same shade of gray so dark it was practically black in the gloom. There were two people already there, the white-robed Healer standing by and a figure lying in the middle of the floor. Stephan closed the door behind him, leaving James to his task. He walked slowly down the stairs without taking his eyes from Leebin, each slapping step he took echoing around the room.

It _was _Leebin. He had the same reddish-brown hair that seemed to naturally spoke and looked so soft, the same oval glasses on his handsome face. He'd been stripped shirtless and was barefooted, he was only wearing red plaid pajama bottoms, he'd probably either been in bed or going to bed when he'd been taken. James was somewhat disappointed Leebin wasn't muscular, he wasn't fat though but rather just thin and bony with a treasure trail running down from his navel. He had scars too, some across his neck that looked like they'd come from a werewolf and even deeper ones across his stomach that also looked like they'd come from a werewolf. Had he been attacked by a werewolf at some point? James didn't know or care really. He had a shiny wedding band on one hand, thick shackles binding his wrists to the ground but nothing else noteworthy about him aside from the fact he was sleeping.

James watched him curiously, it was all very rhythmic and calm. His chest rising and falling, his breathe causing strands of hair to sway slightly backwards and forwards. James could feel his pent up rage, Leebin had promised to help him then abandoned him like the traitorous bastard he was and god was punishing him and rewarding James here it seemed. But he also felt oddly aroused, Leebin had always seemed attractive to him with his fairly youthful handsome face, how he listened to everything James said, his voice, his soft-looking hair that James had always wanted to… Who was stopping him? James crouched by Leebin and ran his hands through his hair, grinning to himself. It _was_ soft. He caressed Leebin's face gently – he'd never gotten to do that to anyone either – before moving his hand to Leebin's chest, it was still firm. Leebin started to stir then though, James jumped up in panic and kicked him as hard as he could.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Hogan!" Leebin yelled stupidly as he snapped away, turning onto his side and cringing at the pain.

He blinked a few times sleepily and James kicked him again, this time in the fleshy part of his stomach which had him yelp in pain again and try curling his body instinctively and protectively into a ball. James kicked him in the groin, Leebin tried to shift his position to protect that instead leaving his stomach unprotected so James could kick him again. He felt his rage fueling him again, how dare he abandon him!? He kicked Leebin again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And… what was he supposed to be doing again?

"Do you remember me?!" James spat at him angrily, resisting the urge to kick him again so Leebin could actually glance at him.

"J-James?" Leebin wondered, sounding somewhat surprised and pained.

"Oh so you _do _remember me?!" James sneered and kicked him again, punctuating each of his next words with another kick with the final being forceful enough to send him back onto his back, "After. All. You. Did. Abandon. Me. When. You. Said. You. Would. Help!"

"I was fired," Leebin lied breathlessly, probably winded from the kicks and his eyes fluttered closed against the pain, "F-From Hogwarts. All the counsellors were because of… because of Chastity."

"It was your fault! You said you'd help me and you didn't! You left me!"

"I-I'm sorry."

"Damn straight you should be sorry!" James screamed at him and Leebin flicked his eyes back open to glance at him.

"Why are you doing this, James?"

"Because you know-"

"No, why are you doing _this_. Joining the Shadows," Leebin interjected and James was so taken aback by the question he didn't kick him again for interrupting like he should've, "Y-You always stood against them before, you hated anyone suspected of being one."

"Well that was before I realized they were good," James told him seriously, "They saved my life when my _own_ Dad wanted to send me to jail, my own Dad Leebin, he just wanted to leave me to rot. But the Soul Eaters? They're giving me a great life, they're making the world better."

"Better for who, James? Is it really best f-for the world or just what you feel is best for you?"

"I think-" James started to say before realizing something and angrily kicking his side again instead, Leebin whimpered in pain, "This isn't a stupid counselling session! This is a torture session, your whole life is a torture session now. My torture session, I own you. And if you don't tell me what I want to know then I'm going to do a hell of a lot worse than kick you, I've been taught how and I'm good at it."

"What _do_ you want to know? Don't they teach you to ask that?" Leebin queried and James kicked him as hard as he could, his cheeks burning at the obvious oversight, "O-Okay, that one I deserved."

"Tell me where Calderon is," James demanded and withdrew his wand threateningly, Leebin merely shook his head. He raised his wand and Leebin cringed.

"It's not too late, you know?" Leebin said quietly and James met his eyes thoughtfully despite himself, they were kind of a nice shade of cyan. Not as nice as Carver's eyes though, "You don't have to do this, James, you don't have to choose this life. Your Father loves you, your whole family was worried when you went missing- Harry was a wreck. Tell him what you did, he'll forgive you and take you back, whatever you know to tell him about the Shadows will keep you out of prison. He won't even care, he just wants you home safe and sound again."

James stomped angrily down on Leebin's glasses, Leebin screamed as they shattered and shards went into his eyes. He kicked at his eyes repeatedly to make sure that was the case before moving his foot away, Leebin's eyelid seemed stuck half open with pieces of stabbing through, into and in the eye behind it while more dug into the area around his eyes. There was blood, he looked like he was crying crimson tears. Leebin rolled onto his side to be closer to the ground and the broken frames fell off him as he started desperately trying to pull the shards out of his eyes, James hadn't actually done that before. It was interesting, it looked painful. He deserved it with his stupid cowardly lies.

"I told you, Leebin, this isn't a counselling session. You pathetic coward," James spat while Leebin just shakily kept trying to help his eyes which were now an indistinguishable bloody mess to him, "It_ is_ too late. The Soul Eaters are wonderful and we're going to win, Dad will see that. They should be coming to _me_ for forgiveness and to ask _me_ to keep them out of prison, not the other way around. So tell me what I need to know or get ready to scream because I'm going to cut off one of your fingers."

Leebin shook his head once more and James crouched to grab one of his bloody hands, using a powerful severing charm to cut off his literal ring finger. He screamed and screamed even louder when James used another spell to cauterize the wound, James smiled to himself. It felt good to be the one with the power. He took the ring of Leebin's severed finger before lighting the limb on fire, taking away personal items was good in torture. Leebin was shaking as he went back to trying to get the glass out of his eyes with his one unhurt hand, James wasn't sure whether from the cold or fear or if he was actually crying now.

"Took your ring, you don't need it anymore because we killed your family," James taunted him as the stench of burning flesh clawed at his nostrils, as bad as it was it would be worse for Leebin though, "And can you smell that? That's the smell of _your own_ flesh burning. Not nice is it? I told you, I'm going to do worse than just kick you. So, coward, are you going to tell me where Calderon is?"

Leebin choked on a sob as he shook his head again.

"Looks like we're doing this the fun way then," James smirked and raised his wand, Leebin screamed as he cast his next spell. James liked the sound of his screams, served him right for being a traitor.

* * *

><p>"<em>Crucio!"<em> Atticus Ashain cried as he cast the spell on his prisoner.

The guy he had tied to a chair in his own home but Atticus had cast silencing charms to ensure no one overheard. He'd also searched the entire house from top to bottom and for hidden areas but no sign of his son so far, he would find Antonius dammit. Normally he would really be quite repulsed by use of the Torture Curse but he found he didn't care, it had been three days since Antonius had gone missing and he was beside himself. Three _whole_ days, he hadn't slept, he hadn't eaten, he just _had_ to find Antonius. He didn't care what it took, he needed his son to be safe. He let the spell down and the man continued sobbing.

"TELL ME WHERE MY SON IS!" Atticus screamed at him and the man flinched fearfully. He _should _be fearful, Atticus didn't think he'd been so angry in his entire life.

"I don't know!" the man insisted desperately, Atticus flicked his wand at the man's knee and he screamed at was shattered, "PLEASE! I don't know!"

"Do you know what the three most common causes for child kidnapping are?" Atticus questioned, making an effort to yell, "One: Parental dispute but it's not that because Skye wouldn't kill her brother for that. Two: ransom but it's not that because there are no demands. Three: perverts like you so you see why I'm here, you're a registered muggle sex offender and you live on the very same street so tell me, WHERE IS MY SON!?"

"I didn't take your son!" the man insisted and Atticus flicked his wand at the other knee, the man screamed once more, "I swear I didn't! I don't even like boys."

"STOP LYING!"

"I'm not lying! I swear!" the man sobbed, "I didn't even know Skye Winters had children."

"Well she does and they're _my_ children and I'm going to get my son back!" Atticus snapped at him and raised his wand again threateningly, "If you didn't take him then you're going to tell me who did or I'll kill you and go to the next on my list."

"It wasn't anyone on the list!" the man shrieked and cowered away from the wand, his eyes bulging. Atticus slashed him across the face with the Acutus Curse, he screamed again.

"I knew you were involved!"

"I wasn't, I just saw it out the window!" the man cried and Atticus lowered his wand slightly, he was listening, "Just as was getting back from work, I saw this kid running out of Skye's house. He looked kind of like you but ten and not insane but then… then… there was this popping sound and this guy appeared in front of him, he grabbed and they just… vanished."

"That's impossible!" Atticus yelled angrily and the man flinched again, if it was wizards then it changed everything, "Skye said it was muggles! They slit her brother's throat-"

"Well she must've lied!" the man whined, "I'm just telling you what _I _saw, I thought I was just seeing things until you walked in here with that… that stick. I wouldn't lie to you, I don't want to die, please."

"You've been useful," Atticus admitted and the man hung his head in relief, "_Obliviate_."

Atticus disapparated before the man could raise his head, reappearing in his former home. Skye was doing the dishes, she jumped fearfully and spun in terror before relaxing slightly when she saw it was just him. The words died in his throat as he saw his former wife, would she really have lied to him about something like this? Maybe. Maybe was enough to keep his rage burning. If he was wrong then… well who _cared?!_ Nothing mattered apart from saving Antonius, he had to save his son. Their son.

"I told you not to do that," Skye complained at him before scowling, "You okay? You look a wreck."

"Maybe because my son is missing!" Atticus yelled at her before he could stop himself, "Tell me what happened."

"I told you what happened."

"Well tell me again and this time, _don't_ leave out the part where a wizard grabbed him and disapparated with him when he tried to flee," Atticus snapped and Skye averted her eyes guiltily, he felt his jaw dropping in shock, "You did lie?! What the hell, Skye?! What the fu- Tell me what really happened!"

"Atty-"

"TELL ME!" Atticus screamed at her and raised his wand threateningly, Skye's eyes filled with tears.

"Or what? You're going hurt me," Skye wondered tearfully as she wrapped her arms protectively around himself, he did feel a sliver of sympathy. What was he doing? He shouldn't be raising his wand to his wife. Ex-wife.

"I'm going to get _our_ son back," Atticus said instead, catching her eyes, "Tell me what happened and tell me now, if you care about Antonius at _all_ then you'll tell me. Who took him?!"

"Wizards," Skye admitted, spitting out the word like it was something vile, "They came to me and told me that I needed to ask to see the kids over Christmas because it's really hard to get to him when he's in Hogwarts with you-"

"YOU HELPED THEM?!" Atticus screamed at her, rage filling him once more and Skye flinched tearfully, "How could you?!"

"You don't understand, they tortured me-"

"Oh so that makes it okay to betray your ten year old child?!"

"I refused!" Skye yelled defensively, tears flying from her eyes, "I refused when they tortured me! I _refused_, okay?! So they killed my boyfriend, they _killed_ Carl. Then they took Jasper and told me they'd kill him too if I didn't help them, I didn't have a choice. But then Jasper didn't want to let them take him and Tony fought back-"

"Antonius!" Atticus interrupted her angrily, his voice cracked as he thought of his son feeling hurt and betrayed as he tried to fight because he was a fighter. He had a good son, "If you knew anything about him at all then you'd know he prefers to be called Antonius, its his name and that's what he wants, Tony's gone, that's who he wants to be and he deserves to get what he wants after the crap he's been through!"

"Crap he's only been through because of magic," Skye stated bitterly, "I wish I'd never even met you."

"Well don't worry, Skye, I'm going to go and I'm going to save our son from the Shadows," Atticus assured her darkly and she glanced at him, "But so long as I live, you'll never see him or Cassia again."

Skye opened her mouth to speak but he turned on his heel and disapparated, he couldn't bear to look at her anymore. He had to save his son. Whatever it took. He couldn't waste his time, every second was another second Antonius was being held against his will. If wizards were responsible then it was most likely the Shadows... He had an idea.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Questions:<em>**

**_Isn't there another way to shut down the wrist connection? _**  
><em>Yes<em>

**_I'm also surprised that he hasn't targeted Maurice... final target ain't he? _**  
><em>Florian is reluctant to target Maurice because he cares about him and Maurice's talents also mean he's very hard to kill so yes, he wants to leave Maurice until later<em>

**_So Xerxes had that many children huh? No wonder why he agreed to look after Oathan... or was Vathan? Oathan is Florian's child right?_**  
><em>Okay for the record, Xerxes' children and ages are: Stephan Hunter (21), Ethan Seneca (18), Carver Edwards (17), Viola Kalya (15), Martha Seneca (11), Andreas Webb (10), Davin Dawson (7), Rocio Castro (4), Xerxes Page (8 months) and Decimus Seneca (unborn). Oathan is Alzay's fourth and youngest child, Florian is his father<em>

**_Will all of them join and help Gray or will be erased from Earth's face before the final deal begins?_**  
><em>Not all (if any) will join andor help Gray, too much of a spoiler to say if any of them will die_

**_Wasn't enough when she allowed the Shadows to rip Antonius magic and soul off to tip you that she's terrified of you lot? _**  
><em>Skye didn't know about the damage it would do to or Antonius or that magic is part of the soul or she wouldn't have done it so Atticus forgave her for that<em>

**_Can anyone see him (Scorpius)? _**  
><em>Yes, Scorpius can only be seen by people who've seen death (this only applies when he's a Thestral, as a human anyone can see him still)<em>

**_Whats up with Molly?/How come Molly isn't in contact with Scorpious anymore? Is she okay?/Will we see Molly soon/or at all the rest of the book? _**  
><em>Molly is fine, she's just been living at the hideout (along with Latimer) and busy learning to track and spy on people for Varanian. His defenses make it harder for owls to find her so she gets messages late and finds it hard to reply when she can't risk talking about how she is so she hasn't really been in contact much. You will her see her this book very soon<em>

**_Have you ever thought of publishing a 'Deleted Scenes Spinoff'? _**  
><em>I have thought about it, I do cut scenes quite a bit or rather just not write them but I don't think people would be interested in that since they're less important<em>

**_Will the Ministry or at least Harry discover that Cel is the traitor soon/ or within this book? _**  
><em>No, some will learn this book but Harry and the general population will not<em>

**_When will people figure out that Sal is Voldemort's DAUGHTER not SON? _**  
><em>Some point this book<em>


	32. VI: Brothers In Arms

_**Thanks to:** green aura, Cool, KekuleSalvador, percyjackson42, Lucifersdaughter and Colin Creevey for reviewing!_

_**Author's Note:** A question for readers, would anyone be interesting in reading a kind of deleted scenes spinoff featuring scenes I cut or simply don't write in because they're not as important or not from POV characters and maybe some flashbacks? _

**_Questions:_**

**_Will he (James) realize in this book that he is on the wrong side? Will he wind up being like Draco and Harry with Scorpious, just not speaking to him and trying to hide the past?_**  
><em>Too spoilery to answer I'm afraid, James is meant to parallel Draco in some ways like Scorpius is Harry but that doesn't mean they're exactly the same nor does it mean that they will end up the same<em>

* * *

><p>Celestine sat in wait, idly cruciating his son to pass the time. He was waiting for Ron Weasley to find out Leebin had been taken, he'd know it wasn't himself thus likely Cel himself and knowing the idiot, Ron would rush over here to confront him in person. He knew going after Leebin would bring them under suspicion but it had to be done, besides he had a plan and it would get rid of Ron in the process. He caught sight of a shadow of movement, registering it was Brutus Ashain just before the older man grabbed his wrist and jerked it painfully back. Celestine screamed in pain and heard a sickening snap, his wand dropped from his fingers releasing Vale from the spell. The little freak curled itself into the fetal position, shaking and sobbing from the residual effect of the curse.<p>

"What the hell, Brutus?!" Celestine snapped at him as he pulled away angrily as he stood, nursing his almost-certainly broken wrist. He _hated_ Brutus. What did she _see_ in him? He'd done everything she'd ever wanted yet the deformed freak who questioned and argued with her plans was the one she loved. What was he doing wrong?

"Stop torturing your son," Brutus shot back immediately and his grotesquely deformed – not as bad as Vale's monstrous appearance though – face spared a sympathetic glance for the toddler before his dark chestnut eyes darted back to him, "I guess you're even for the Leebin boy's broken wrist."

"Break Selwyn's wrist, he's the one who did it. Besides, it was an accident, apparently the kids just got caught in the crossfire."

"Well Selwyn's not also torturing his son."

"Selwyn doesn't _have_ a son," Celestine pointed out testily, "Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be destroying Lebanon with our Master?"

"The Master was worried about your cover being blown," Brutus admitted, glancing distractedly at Vale again as if he wanted to pick him up and comfort him, "What's this plan you mentioned to avoid this?"

"I'll tell you later, okay? It's about to go down and I don't want you screwing it up, Ron could be here at any minute."

"Fine," Brutus grumbled, "But leave the kid alone, I'll be watching."

"Fine," Celestine agreed irritably and the deformed lump stepped back into the shadows, vanishing from sight.

He sighed, he missed Rabastan. He also thought he probably should've forced Brutus to heal his broken wrist, it was actually quite painful. On the other hand, he had been taught to duel with his left as well as his right and it might look good for his credibility to have his preferred hand broken. He picked up his wand with his left hand anyway and Vale froze, his freakish eyes bulging as he stared at it. Stupid Brutus, couldn't he see Vale was a monster not a child? Why was he the only one who could see him for what he was?

He heard a pop behind him, surprise shooting into his mind at his anti-apparation charms had been broken. He reacted before the thought had fully formed, instinct ruling him as he spun and cast a nonverbal Shield Charm. It was a good thing too because a spell had already been fired, his shield shattered as it took the brunt of the curse but Celestine was thrown back anyway. He crashed into a book shelf, sending tombs flying before he scrambled back up to his feet. The caster was Ron Weasley, his face red with rage like his hair had once been.

"What the bloody hell, Cel?! What do you think you're playing at?!" Ron yelled at him furiously, "Harry trusted you, we _all_ trusted you! How could you go dark side?! How could you betray everything we've ever fought for?!"

"I was never on your side, Ron," Celestine admitted as he got to his feet, there was no reason to lie to him now, "And don't pretend like you were ever on mine, you've always had it out for me."

"What are you on about?! We treated you like family! We always-" Ron scoffed, faking a look of bewilderment before his caught sight of Vale whose tearstained face looked absolutely terrified, "Really? Your _own_ son? He's two freaking years old! What did you do to him, Cel?!"

"Nothing," Celestine smirked as he idly started making a wand movement while keeping it as his side, "I never left a mark on the inhuman freak, even the Cruciatus Curse never leaves a mark."

"You son of a bitch."

Celestine jerked his wand upwards and pulled, the shelving unit on the wall flew out and hit Ron in the head. It smashed upon contact and sent the older man down, Vale screamed and crawled like a worthless coward under a table. Celestine kicked Ron's wand away from him and hit him with a stunner while he was groaning in pain, trying to get up. He crouched and ripped open Ron's sleeve so he could start drawing the Shadow Mark onto his flesh, branding him with the writhing skeletal snake symbol of the Soul Eaters and doing a minor healing charm to make it look older, another to disperse the smell of his burnt flesh. Ron should be grateful really, most people didn't get to be unconscious when they received the Mark.

He then revived Ron, the older man stirred and started to sit up. Celestine opened his mouth to speak but was taken completely by surprise as Ron smashed his fist into his face, he was knocked onto his back with his wand flying and Ron lunged on him with another punch already hitting his nose painfully. Celestine instinctively but stupidly also went to punch Ron with his right hand, connected to the broken wrist. He screamed at the waves of pain it sent cascading through his arm but nonetheless, the blow had been strong enough to disrupt Ron's position. Celestine struck him again – this time with his unhurt left hand – to knock the older and weaker man off him, he scrambled for his wand while Ron spat out a mouthful of blood and what looked like a tooth.

Celestine stood breathing heavily while Ron remained on his knees doing the same but he kept his wand aimed on him anyway, he could taste blood himself as it was dribbling down from his nose while his right eye throbbed from the first blow along with his broken wrist. Ron cringed and touched at the Shadow Mark as if he'd only just noticed it, his blue eyes widening in horror at the symbol before turning to him darkly.

"You really think this is going to convince Harry that I'm a Shadow?" Ron questioned of him, sounding almost amused, "You really think your little mark is going to turn my best mate against me after all we've been through over the years? You're an idiot."

"Harry's not going to think you're the Shadow because of that, he's going to think you're the Shadow because that is what you're going to tell him," Celestine told him and Ron have a snort of derision.

"And why the bloody hell would I do-"

"Didn't you ever wonder what happened to James?" Celestine interrupted and Ron's expression became puzzled, "Harry's wrong, Varanian doesn't have him. We do. And Lucy too. It's so easy to take a squib from a muggle school and make her write a letter claiming to be staying with a friend this Christmas. We have your niece and your nephew, for now they're alive but they're dead if you don't play ball."

"I don't believe you," Ron said but his tone was much quieter.

Celestine smiled knowingly as he levitated the photograph from his pocket and over to him since he couldn't use his free hand easily due to the break. Ron picked it up, his eyes widening again as he saw it. It was a picture of James and Lucy, tied up with a copy of today's _Daily Prophet_ to prove they were alive as of right now. Of course it was a lie, they weren't prisoners but they would reluctantly pretend to be if ordered to.

"When Harry comes, I'm going to tell him you're the Shadow and point out the Shadow Mark. He probably won't believe it so you're just going to confess, you're going to tell him you're a Soul Eater. A Shadow will then appear, acting like he obeys you and will take you away, make it look like you're escaping with him," Celestine explained to him and Ron looked at him with a mixture of loathing and defeat, "If you don't comply, tell Harry the truth or any attempt to send him a sign then James and Lucy will be killed. And don't think if I'm arrested it won't happen, if I'm arrested then they'll know to do it even more. You either take the fall or I take you niece and nephew's lives, don't you think the Weasley family has had enough deaths lately?"

"I hate you, Cel, you're a right git," Ron stated seriously as he stood, Celestine magically burning the evidence into nothingness.

"But you'll do it."

"If I do it, I want you to let them go."

"Eh, Lucy can be let go back to her muggles but we can keep James with you for leverage," Celestine lied easily and Ron sighed, "Sound fair?"

Ron opened his mouth to reply but the answer was lost at another popping sound as the famous Harry Potter himself appeared, looking rather distressed as well. His jet black hair seemed messier than usual even by his standards, his emerald eyes and glanced between then both with his wand darting with it. He knew he was more inclined to favor his protégé over his oldest friend as the culprit, hence why he had ultimately come to his house in the first place but Ron was the one with the Shadow Mark on his arm giving him doubt.

"It's Ron, Harry," Celestine burst out immediately, looking upset, "He tried to Imperise me into confessing and h-he has the mark on his arm."

"You're both under arrest under we figure this out, Alaric's orders," Harry said very quietly and shot them both with the spell to check if they were under the Imperius Curse, of course they weren't.

"It's Cel, Harry," Ron countered, much to Celestine's surprise but he didn't let that show on his face. What was Ron playing at? Had his plan failed? But Ron had agreed… Unless he thought it was too unbelievable to immediately give in? Ron held out his arms as if innocent, "C'mon mate, this is me. Who are you going to believe? He put this symbol on me to frame me."

"Then why are you at his house?"

"Confront the git of course, go on Harry, arrest him."

Harry slowly turned his wand on Celestine, he didn't fight the Disarming Charm launched at him because he thought that would make him look guiltier. Ron picked up his own wand and swallowed before hitting Harry with the Knockback Jinx when he wasn't looking, the Head Auror was thrown backwards off his feet and his wand torn from his hand in his surprise. Ron kept his wand aimed at Harry, his expression blank. Harry could only gape at him, his mind seemingly struggling to process what was happening.

"You're my brother, Ron, I love you," Harry choked out tearfully, "Why?"

"Because we can't win, Harry," Ron told him, his blank expression and wand unwavering, "Not this time. I want to win, I don't want to see any more of my family to die."

"This is the wrong way-"

"This is the _only_ way," Ron interrupted and insisted with a note of finality so serious that for a second Celestine almost believed him, tears rolled down behind Harry's glasses.

"Master! Come on!" a Soul Eater Celestine didn't know the name of urged of Ron as he stepped out of the shadows, having been transported by Specter to bypass the broken anti-apparation charms. He slashed his wand absentmindedly at Celestine as he noticed him standing as a potential threat, Celestine cried out once more in pain as the Acutus Curse sliced through his chest and knocked him down. Somehow, he thought Brutus was behind that.

"About time," Ron snapped at the newcomer and grabbed the man's arm, the Specters transporting them both far away.

"No," Harry breathed as he got to his feet, he kicked angrily at a fragment of the shelf Celestine had knocked Ron out with earlier which caused Vale to yelp in fear since it landed near him, "NO!"

"I'm sorry, Harry," Celestine whispered as he sat up painfully as his chest bled freely, thinking of the bullying he'd endured as a child to make his sorrow more genuine. Harry had noticed Vale though and grabbed the boy out from under the table, more roughly then he'd have expected.

"Vale, I need you to tell me what happened and I need you to tell me the truth right now," Harry snapped at the toddler, Celestine felt a pang of fear because he hadn't accounted for Vale. Vale whimpered fearfully, apparently not wanting to get involved so Harry shook him, "Vale! Tell me! This is very important!"

"Uncle Ron comed and attack Daddy," Vale answered in a terrified sob, "It was scary."

"How did the mark get on Uncle Ron's arm?!"

"I don't know, Uncle Harry! The sleeve was ripped and thered it was," Vale lied through his tears and Harry let him go, looking shattered before seemingly realizing he'd been too rough with Vale and pulled the monster into a gentle hug. Celestine resisted the urge to smile to himself while Vale's terrified frightened eyes caught his over Harry's shoulder, he was a smart little freak of nature it seemed.

* * *

><p>James paced irritably in the dungeon, waiting for Leebin's more severe injuries to be healed so he could get back to torturing him. Or rather start again since he'd just woke up, he'd left another torturer – who'd got a little burn happy – with Leebin to work on him while he got some rest. And had had a chance to work out a rough schedule for the torture as well like Stephan had wanted to ensure there was no break. He'd had a rather rude awakening, having been ordered to pretend to be a prisoner to blackmail one of his Uncles for something, Lucy too. He hadn't really gotten to talk to her, he didn't know what her capacity as a Soul Eater was after all, whether she was forced like Heather or willing like him. He was surprised though when a Soul Eater stepped out of the shadows with his Uncle Ron.<p>

"Uncle Ron?" James wondered in surprise, his uncle's surprised diminished by the urge to vomit engraved on his face. Clearly, he was not used to Specter transportation.

"James, you're okay," Uncle Ron said, sounding relieved. He was looking terrible, he hadn't been in good health since his injury a few years back. He'd lost weight and muscle, gained grays and wrinkles.

"Sorry, thought this room was unoccupied. Must've got them mixed up," the Soul Eater apologized while quickly snatching Ron's wand from his hand while he was distracted by his queasiness and nephew.

"What are you doing with my uncle?" James questioned of him before noticing the Healer treating Leebin out of the corner of his eye, he was giving him _water_, "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing, Siberius?!"

"Tending to the prisoner like you ordered, Master," Siberius the Healer pointed out testily in his slightly accented voice as James stalked over to him, he was a thin Caucasian man of average height with a head of shoulder-length white hair despite not being too old. James thought he was quite handsome though, except for his attitude.

"He's only allowed water every three days."

"Well then this can be the first."

"James, what- what have you done?" Uncle Ron stammered out in confusion, looking shocked and hurt, "You're one of them?"

"Yes," James admitted proudly as he turned to his uncle and folded his arms, a smile forming on his face, "I'm a Soul Eater, I have assignments and everything."

"Oh James."

"It's good! We're making the world a better place!" James protested and gestured to the healer, "Right, Siberius?"

"Yes, my life is so much better now my wife was mutilated and dragged off to be a slave, my children taken away to be taught and instead of saving lives I just prolong victims pain," Siberius answered in a bitter, sardonic tone what earned him a scowl.

"Well maybe they wouldn't have to be taken away if not for your terrible attitude, that'll poison their minds against us."

"Good."

"I'm happy with being a Soul Eater," the Soul Eater offered helpfully while Uncle Ron hung his head sadly.

"If my uncle's not here to join us then why is he here?" James asked of the Soul Eater.

"To be killed, he's taking the fall for Master Cel."

"I knew it," Leebin burst out, seemingly without thinking.

James kicked him in the jaw for speaking out of turn, thankfully for an excuse to hide his panic and delight at the thought of Cel being a Soul Eater too. He couldn't just let his uncle die though, surely with some time his uncle could see the light. Siberius helped Leebin up and went to go finish giving him the water, James surreptitiously tapped the canteen with his wand as an idea occurred to him.

"Change of plan, lock my uncle in a cell rather than killing him," James spoke up and smiled to himself as Siberius poured the now scalding liquid down Leebin's throat, Leebin screamed in agony and Siberius moved the canteen back in horror. James was impressed, there was real steam. Not to mention the fact this would take away any possible refreshment for Leebin, he neither deserved it nor was it useful for breaking him, "I heated the water up a bit, Siberius, there's nothing to say we can't give him _scalding_ water. Only heal him enough so he can still talk when you're done. Well, go on Siberius, what are you waiting for? It's _your _job to give the prisoner water, this is what you wanted."

Siberius gave James a look of utter loathing before turning back to Leebin very unhappily, James watched eagerly with a smile. Leebin's eyes bulged in fear and he tried to pull away but his broken hands were still shackled to the floor, Siberius' face was guilt-ridden as he poured the burning liquid down Leebin's mouth with his eyes closed and a muttered apology. He tried to pretend to be done but James heard the slosh of water.

"_All_ of it, Siberius," James insisted and Siberius poured the rest down Leebin's throat despite the screams of pain, his scarred cyan eyes filled with pain, "You know, you have pretty eyes without your glasses. I'm glad I broke them."

"What is wrong with you?" Uncle Ron asked of him, sounding heart-broken and looking sickened while Leebin lay down on his side, clutching his stomach with his eyes squeezed shut as his insides were presumably burned as well.

"I'm saving your life, you should be grateful," James snapped at him, angry at the lack of gratitude while Leebin wretched onto the ground, "Leebin deserves what he gets, he doesn't have to be tortured if he just tells us what we want to know. Plus he should never have abandoned me."

"I don't know if you have the authority to spare his life," the Soul Eater commented awkwardly and James threw him a murderous look instead as he folded his arms.

"Does Stephan Hunter?" James asked, knowing Stephan would back him up and the Soul Eater's face drained of color while Siberius started healing Leebin again.

"Wh-Why y-yes, he's the most likely candidate to replace Rabastan as one of the Shadow Master's Lieutenants."

"Good because he happens to be a close person friend of mine and if you go get him then I'm sure he'll agree with me that its best to keep my uncle alive, he's more valuable alive and could have some use down the road."

"I erm… I'll find the prisoner a cell and ask him," the Soul Eater agreed and conjured chains for his uncle quickly, leading him away.

Uncle Ron didn't even say thank you, he just looked disappointed and saddened. And James was the bad one? He'd saved his uncle's life, even after Uncle Ron had betrayed him along with the rest. He was a great person, he was the best. He was right and they were wrong. He shook his head as Siberius finally seemed to have finished with Leebin who was still curled up in pain, James couldn't wait to break him.

"Can you speak?" James questioned of him with a kick of encouragement, "Say something."

"Something," Leebin croaked weakly.

"Didn't I tell you that I'd do worse than just kick you?" James questioned of Leebin with a smirk as he raised his wand, "Anything you feel like telling me about Calderon's location before we begin? No? Oh well…"

* * *

><p>Atticus Ashain paced anxiously, glancing at the clock every five seconds to see if time had miraculously sped up. It hadn't. It was ironic that it was Christmas morning but unlike in his childhood, his attention to time had nothing to do with waiting until he would be able to wake his father to open his presents. He was just waiting to go to a meeting, a meeting where there was only a fifty-fifty chance the other person would actually show up. Well, fifty was better than the zero chance if he didn't even try. And dammit he was going to try, he would try for Antonius, he had to save his child.<p>

"Daddy?" Cassia questioned as he wandered out, still in her pink nightdress. She didn't look enthusiastic or happy for Christmas, she was worried for her brother, "Are you going to go to bed? It's late."

"Technically it's early," Atticus countered but stopped to pick up his little girl and hold her tightly, assuring himself she was still there at least. He kissed the top of her head and squeezed her tearfully, "I love you so much, sweetie, you're the best daughter in the whole wide world."

"I know, Daddy, you keep telling me. I love you too, you're the best," Cassia told him and he felt a painful pang in his heart, he wasn't the best. He was the worst, he couldn't even protect his children.

"Come on, let's get you back to bed," Atticus offered and carried her back into her room, tucking her back into her bed where the dog still slept and the vulture was perched on its stand, "Try get some sleep, Cassia."

"I'll try," Cassia said quietly, "You should try too, Daddy."

"I'll try," Atticus lied as he left to go back to his pacing, only this time moving into his classroom to ensure it wouldn't disturb her.

How was he supposed to sleep when his son was missing? Or eat? Or do anything other than focus on getting his child back? Finally the clock turned over to a reasonable time to leave and he left, magically sealing both his office and classroom door, putting on some protective enchantments to – hopefully – ensure Cassia would be safe while he was gone. He headed out, nervously, hoping against hope.

"Where do you think you're going, Ashain?" a familiar but unwelcome voice commented on his way out of the gates, stepping out in front of them.

"Wherever the hell I want to go, Syn, it's a free country," Atticus spat at her angrily, she of all people would have to be the Auror in charge here.

"That's Lead Auror Cistro to you," Syn told him testily, staring daggers at him that he returned.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore and I don't give a damn what your title is, get the hell out of my way or find a reason to stop me."

"I have a reason," Syn sneered, "I _know_ you helped your brother escape arrest as a Death Eater, I _know _you helped him fake his death, I _know_ you're in league with him still."

"And I _know_ you're wrong and I _know_ if you had any proof of your ludicrous claim then I'd be in New Azkaban already so get out of my way!" Atticus snapped and Syn sulkily stepped aside, he stalked past her.

She wasn't entirely wrong about everything but he couldn't admit that or he would be in trouble, nor could he bring himself to care at that particular moment. He disapparated the second he reached Hogsmeade, finding him under the gray, murky morning sky and standing outside the gates he hadn't seen since his father had disowned him for 'killing' Brutus. The gates still stood but the home of his childhood was gone, the home of generations of Ashain children was gone. Still, he strode into the ruins. Not that there was much left to call ruins, some snow-covered piles of rubble and a massive crater. Curiously, the blanket of snow didn't cover the crater revealing the scorched earth. He heard familiar cawing and glanced up, seeing the flock of vultures that had once resided there flying overheard.

"Weird, isn't it?" a gruff voice commented as snowflakes started to fall, dying the second they touched the ground, "Who ever thought the Ashain Mansion would fall?"

"Not me," Atticus admitted as he turned to face his brother. Brutus was standing a few feet away from him watching him with the same dark chestnut eyes he watched him with, the same extremely dark auburn wavering in the gentle breeze. They were the same average height but Brutus was very muscular and of course, his features deformed, "You're early."

"So are you. And you look a wreck."

"I wasn't sure you'd come."

"I wasn't sure either, this could be trap after-" Brutus started to admit but Atticus withdrew his wand and flung it wildly, leaving himself unarmed.

"This isn't a goddamned trap, Brutus, I want my son back," Atticus snapped, cutting the chase immediately and Brutus' eyes widened in surprise, "Don't play dumb with me, I know he was taken by wizards and I know who those wizards were most likely to be. Give me my son back, Brutus. I don't care about any of this other crap, I want my child."

"Atty-"

"He's ten freaking years old! Haven't you people done enough to him!?" Atticus interjected angrily, "Give me my son back!"

"I don't have your son."

"Don't lie to me! I-"

"I'm not lying!" Brutus interrupting, holding out his hands as if innocent, "We _didn't_ take him."

"If you didn't take him then who did?" Atticus demanded as he folded his arms and Brutus sighed, "Tell me, dammit! It's my son!"

"Pyrrhus Florian," Brutus admitted reluctantly while Atticus was taken completely by surprise, that was not a name he'd been expecting.

"Pyrrhus Florian? What the hell would he want with Antonius?"

"I have no idea," Brutus sighed with a shake of his head, "We have trackers hunting him but he's difficult to trace, the most recent location they tracked him too was your ex-wife and considering your son just _happened_ to go missing then… It was probably him."

"Well what does he want?" Atticus wondered in confusion, he had no idea what the defector and former professor wanted.

"We don't know," Brutus insisted but looked worried.

"Doesn't your all-knowing, all-powerful Shadow Master know what her ex-underlings are after?"

"No she doesn- Wait, did you see she?" Brutus changed his sentence mid-way through, looking him in shock.

"So it is a she?" Atticus questioned triumphantly and Brutus sighed, averting his eyes as he nodded, "She's your lover isn't she?"

"H-How did- Wha-" Brutus stammered incoherently as his eyes darted back to him with an expression of utter shock.

"I've been wondering to myself for a while why you're still dedicated to this train wreck, clearly this is interfering with your morals now. At first I figured you were staying out of loyalty to your friend but this has gone way beyond that, it has to be a stronger bond and Calderon did mention once having a sister. He quickly retracted but…" Atticus trailed off and shrugged, "I figured he wasn't lying now, he's protecting his sister and you're protecting the woman you love."

"Yes," Brutus admitted in the quietest of voices, "Are you going to tell anyone?"

"Do you have children with her?"

"Twin sons, Lazarus and Omega. They're a year and a half."

"No," Atticus sighed heavily and Brutus looked relieved, "But not for her, for my nephews because I give a damn about my family."

"I give a damn too, okay?" Brutus protested defensively, "I really don't know what Florian wants. It worries me, I really am trying to get him. When he left he took his three year old son, Oathan, I want the kid back safe and sound. He has a half-brother who misses him."

"Have a soft spot for half-brothers?" Atticus wondered, thinking of themselves.

"We think he's behind the attacks on Scorpius and the Scamanders, that he's trying to kill the scarred wrists. We also think he's in league with Jack Thorne, this muggle who merged his soul with One, world's most powerful Specter and now they're… Not a good thing. And now he took Antonius," Brutus recounted for him, "If you see a connection that I'm missing then feel free to point it out."

"No clue," Atticus admitted with a shake of his head but he did think of something else, "But you think if we can figure out what he wants then we may be able to figure out where he's going, we can get the kids back."

"We should help each other," Brutus agreed and stepped forward and offered his hand, "We should work together to stop Florian and save the kids."

"We should," Atticus said slowly and started to reach forward to take his hand before pulling it away, "Just to clarify, this is _only_ to save my son. I'm not joining you on your quest to destroy the planet."

"This is _only_ to save my nephew," Brutus confirmed with a firm nod, "We only share information on Florian, we don't tell a soul, this has nothing to do with the Soul Eaters."

"Deal," Atticus agreed and shook his brother's hand, Brutus smiled at him weakly.

"This feels right, doesn't it? Us working on the same side."

"Yeah," Atticus agreed once more, this time sadly. He wished they _were _on the same side, "So what now?"

"Go back to Hogwarts, protect the scarred wrists: Scorpius, the Scamanders, Orous and Maurice. Try find out who's after them and what connection Antonius could have, I'll keep my people on Florian. If I find out anything, I'll contact you and if you find out anything then you contact me," Brutus decided quite rationally, even if Atticus would rather be out there. His brother's plan made more sense.

"Okay. How do we stay in contact? I'm not sure owls are the best method."

"Then don't use owls, we can talk through Patronuses," Brutus offered and flicked his wand, sending a silver hawk shooting out.

"I'm not sure I can cast one right now," Atticus admitted and Brutus held out his hand, Atticus' wand flew back to its which he then handed back to him, "I'm not sure its best anyway, if we're not alone and they blurt out a message…"

"Good point," Brutus conceded while Atticus focused on a happy memory and waved his wand, to his shock his Patronus wasn't his usual turtle but a different kind of bird. Brutus grinned and clapped him on the back, "Way to finally outgrow sharing your Patronus with your mother. Is that an Osprey?"

"I don't know," Atticus shrugged as the silver birds faded, "I'm not my daughter."

"If we just sent the birds without messages then we should avoid others overhearing, if we see the other's Patronus then we'll meet here the next day at say midnight in UK time."

"Okay," Atticus agreed gratefully and Brutus turned to go, "And Brutus?"

"Yeah?" Brutus wondered as he turned back to him.

"Thank you."

"Any time, Atty."


End file.
